A Blessed Curse
by princess yukiko
Summary: An ancient enemy is awoken and has sworn revenge on Bloom and the magical dimension. This evil curses Bloom to the point of death and the only way to save her life is to strip her of all her powers. What will Bloom do without the power to protect those she loves? And who is this little girl who suddenly appears into her life with the power of the dragon fire in her?
1. Prologue

**_Prologue _**

Her long red hair flowing in the wind as she stands beaten, bruised, and bloodied but her sky blue eyes still held pure determination to defeat her black dressed enemy.

'I can't last much longer. I need to end this battle soon'

"I know your life energy is slowly fading. You can't keep fighting me and my curse for much longer. Surrender to me Jeanne and I will end your life painlessly, or do you enjoy feeling excruciating pain?" Eldus laughed at the sight of Jeanne so close to death. He was proud that he finally found a curse she couldn't break and all it took was for her to fall in love. 'How the mighty have fallen and all for petty love'

"I will NEVER surrender to you, Eldus! Just as I am on the last of my strength, so are you!" She smirked as Eldus lost his confident grin.

"If you keep fighting me Jeanne you will die!"

"I know the consequences, and I am not afraid. But you are, for you must know that when I die you will be coming with me!" She meant every word but she still worried for those she will leave behind. 'Now is not the moment to hesitate… Is it too early to use my trump card?'

Eldus Knew that Jeanne's threats were never empty, that means she must have something up her sleeve 'I need to make her hesitate… even for just a moment.'

"Oo is that so? I had no idea you were so eager to leave your child behind without her loving mother or your king without his beloved Queen. Here I thought you loved them dearly, isn't that why you took my painful curse upon yourself…for them?" he smirked happily when he saw that he struck a nerve as he said those last words, and saw tears starting to fall down her small dirt covered face.

'Eldus is right I don't want to leave my family… I want to see my baby girl grow up…I want to grow old with my true love… M-maybe I can find another way to seal him… This way isn't a complete guarantee anyway; it might not hold him for all eternity…' Jeanne reached up to touch her cherished locket, a gift from her beloved king. She opened it and saw the faces of her beautiful family. 'No! I can't doubt myself! If I don't defeat Eldus now, then the magical balance will be tipped to Evil and all Good magic will die forever. Then no one will be safe!'

Eldus was shocked to see that Jeanne stood tall again and whipped away the tears. 'What is this unnerving chill I feel going down my spine? What changed? Why are her eyes glowing a deep bright blue and filled with unyielding determination? She should be scared to die… not determined!'

"Your right Eldus**!** I do love my family dearly, and that is exactly why I am exchanging my life for your downfall and their happiness. Prepare yourself! This fight ends NOW!" With that she conjured up everything she had left for the Sacred Dragon Flame Seal. 'Please give me the strength I need, Glaedr!' Pushing off the ground as hard as she could, she pushed her wings to the limit in order to reach Eldus with impossible speed while aiming for his heart and mind.

Eldus took a step back in an attempt to dodge 'I can't believe she has this much power left, but I won't be defeated so easily. She will need her maximum speed to even touch me fast enough, and in her current state she won't reach me...' He blinked in time to see Jeanne disappear then reappear with one hand on his heart and the other barely touching his forehead. "How? You were weakened by my curse! You couldn't touch me!" Eldus felt Jeanne's energy entering his body from his heart and his head. He felt the two entering energies reaching out to each other and shutting down everything on the way. "W-wait! What about your husband?... What about your dau-" Eldus' words trailed off as he started to lose consciousness.

"It's because of my family I was able to defeat you. Goodbye Eldus ... SEAL COMPLETE!" Jeanne yelled as she used the last of her strength to complete the seal. As her wings and outfit faded back to her royal garments she heard: "I will get what I want Jeanne just you watch! I'll be back!" Eldus screamed in anger as his mind and body were sealed away in a scared stone relic, hopefully to never be seen again.

'I did it… everyone is safe now' Jeanne thought with a sad smile as she fell backwards. She laid there awaiting her final moments thinking about how she broke her promise to her husband. 'I'm sorry my beloved, please forgive my weakness' As the sun began to rise Jeanne began to slowly close her eyes when she felt her partner's presence.

"You are not weak Jeanne, you are one of the strongest fairies I've ever known in my existence."

Jeanne sighed "Thank you Glaedr, but I'm not that strong. I couldn't even keep a simple promise to return to my beloveds one last time"

The Sacred Dragon Flame deity frowned "I am sorry Jeanne I cannot help you in prolonging your life, I do not have the power to change the fates, but if you like I can deliver any message you wish to your loved ones."

"But I thought it was only possible for you to talk or even be seen by only those directly descended of your blood."

"There is a way for me to talk to humans. It will be a challenge for me, but consider it your reward for renewing the balance of the magical universe and for putting up with this old dragon for so long."

Jeanne looked up and smiled softly at her slightly transparent, golden Sacred Dragon partner. "Thank you Glaedr, but you don't need to talk to him. The only thing I really want is if you can deliver a gift to my love" She reached up and took off her locket. She closed her hand around it and used the remaining of her life energy to charm it and change it a bit. "Here Glaedr… can you… give this… to my husband? This way… he will know… how much I love him… both of them…" Her said with teary eyes and a loving smile as her eyes started to get heavier.

"Of course, Jeanne as you wish." The dragon said as he carefully reached down and grabbed the locket with his large claw. "You were a great partner and an even better fairy. Rest now, and do not worry I will watch over your family and your kingdom in your stead."

A tear fell as Jeanne smiled to her partner and said her final goodbye: "Thank you my dear friend. Take care of yourself." Glaedr nodded and affectionately brushed the tip of his tail along her paling cheek as he saw his fairy partner close her eyes and take her last breath. He bowed his head and gave his final prayer for her to find peaceful rest, before he took off to the royal Domino castle.

As he arrived he found the King on the high balcony looking towards the sunrise waiting for his love. Glaedr heard him send his prayers to his wife. This pained the old dragon 'I know there is no need to talk to him and Jeanne just wanted me to drop of this gift… but I shouldn't leave it like this… this spell will be the right thing for him even if it is just for a moment.' Glaedr casted the ancient spell to gain a temporary body of fallen leaves and wind right before him.

The King stepped back in shock to this sudden appearance "Hello King Leonard. I am Glaedr, and I have a message for you from your wife."

"Glaedr? The sacred deity of Domino?! How? What happened to Jeanne?"

"I don't have much time to get into the details, but I am very sorry for your loss King… She fought a great battle and won, but at a great price." The king was frozen in shock, so Glaedr continued as he held out his hand. "She wanted me to give you this last offering of penance for breaking her promise to you." As the King started registering what he heard, Glaedr placed the locket in his hand. With tears in his eyes the Leonard mumbled "Thank you" as he held the locket tightly in his hands.

"One last thing King, Eldus has been completely sealed in the relic. You will need to make sure that no evil forces discover the relic's whereabouts. Be warned if Eldus is released there is no guarantee that he will be successfully sealed a second time. The power Jeanne possessed was extremely rare and most likely will never appear in the magical dimension again." Glaedr saw the pain in the King's eyes and hoped that he would remember this after he recovers from his shock. Glaedr sighed "Please remember you have a daughter to raise, you must stay strong for her. You must tell her stories of her powerful and caring mother." That seemed to snap the King out of it. Eldus nodded sure he will be fine. "Good bye Leonard. I will watch over your family and your kingdom, but heed my warning of Eldus" With that the spell was broken and Glaedr disappeared in a sudden gust of wind.

Alone Leonard took time to compose his thoughts and mourn his love. He clenched his fist to remember what the Sacred Dragon Flame gave him. He looked at the locket and knew that it was the one that he gave Jeanne when their daughter was born last year, he put a picture of her and their newborn child. He opened it and saw the picture had changed it was now a picture of all three of them happy and smiling with so much love in their eyes on one side. On the other side there was an engraving 'Even in the darkest time, my love's fire for you will be eternal'

The King cried out with all the pain and sorrow he had in his heart for the loss of his true love. "I will forever love you Jeanne! Watch r us until we meet again!" With that he put the necklace on and went inside to check on their daughter. While thinking of how he was going to hide the sealed away Eldus. 'You did your part Jeanne, now it is time I do mine. I will make sure your sacrifice was not in vain.'


	2. Chapter 1 : A Happy Start

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, Well this is the first time I have ever written anything like this. So if you can please take a bit of time to just comment to help me get better will be very much appreciated. _

_Thanks for taking the time to read my story, ENJOY! :-D _

**'**Thinking to oneself**'****  
****"**Talking**"**

* * *

_**Chapter 1  
**__**A Happy Start**_

"Isn't it just a beautiful day to start the new school year, Daphne?" The beautiful red head fairy asked her blonde older sister as they got off the Alfea bus. "Your right Bloom. I have a feeling that it is going to be a very memorable year for us all."

They started to walk through the gates of Alfea, the magical school for young fairies, with her pet rabbit, Kiko, bouncing around close by. "Oo I am so excited! I can't wait to see everyone and get started with this year!" Bloom exclaimed. Daphne giggled at how excited her little sister was "What is so different about this year that has you so excited?"

"Well besides the fact that I'm in another one of your classes..." Bloom said as she winked at her sister "...the Winx and I are going to be teacher-assistants for the underclassmen."

"Oo that's right, I almost forgot about that. Has Ms. Faragonda told you which departments you each will be helping in?"

"Yea, she assigned Stella and Flora to the nature department, they will be teaching students the powerful strength of nature. Musa will be with the Music Department, showing the importance of harmony and creativity in everything. Aisha and Tecna will be helping with the Physical and Offensive Training, Aisha will help push the student to their limits safely while Tecna will customize each student's training program based on their individual needs. And I will be helping with the Defensive and Healing Departments."

"Wow, you each have very important roles in the development of the young fairies. I'm so proud of you guys." Daphne looked at her sister with so much pride.

"I know. I sometimes feel the pressure of that responsibility since I don't want to give anyone bad advice"

"Don't worry Bloom you just believe in yourself and you will be fine. Besides I will always be here whenever you need my help." The sisters gave each other a loving hug before entering their apartment.

As they entered they noticed that the Winx had already made themselves at home. "Hey guys! Long time no see!" The Winx stopped what they were doing and went to greet and hug the sisters. "Bloom! Daphne! Welcome back. How was your trip here?" The kind Nature fairy asked.

"It was good. We are so happy to see you guys!" Daphne responded with a warm smile.

"Bloom you have to try this new program that I created for us. It will help us in keeping up with our class schedules and keep a detailed record and progress of each of our students, as well as easy communication between us." The short purple haired fairy said as she magically updated Bloom's communication bracelet (the same ones they had in the Sirenix Season).

"I also need your advice on this new workout plan I made to start the students on. Roy helped me with it, but I want to make sure it's not too hard." Aisha told Bloom

"And you have to check out this new song I wrote it helps you feel calm and relaxed even under pressure. I thought it could help the new students with the stress of the first week of classes. It even calmed Riven down." The fairy of music giggled at the memory of her boyfriend being so calm right after he lost a sparring match.

"Well I'm glad that I wasn't the only one excited to help the underclassmen. I even wrote notes on the best and easiest defensive magic and simple healing spells. If you guys want to look through it and give me your feedback that would be awesome." Bloom smiled and as she pulled out a thick notebook.

"Of course Bloom and if you want I can scan it so you can have a digital copy. It'll make it easier for you to look things up and share with others."

"That would be amazing Tecna! Thank You!" Tecna smiled as Bloom handed her the notebook.

"Hey guys where's Stella?" Daphne asked as she looked around for the Solaria Princess.

"Here I am! I was just finishing up the charm bracelets I designed for us!" The long golden haired fairy ran up to the Winx and started to pass each one a charm bracelet. "I thought it would be nice if we always had a piece of each other with us since we will be mostly working apart a lot this year."

The Winx each looked at their new charm bracelets and could easily tell which charm represented which Winx: Bloom was a bright blue heart with a golden dragon in the middle. Stella was a bright deep yellow sun and it had a ring of gold stars circling it. Musa was two sheets of music with a magenta flute on top and it had three golden notes flying off the music sheets. Aisha was three teal bubbles with golden outline and each bubble looked to have a sparkling wave inside. Flora was a beautiful pink flower with a golden butterfly on one of the petals. Tecna was three purple diamonds with a few golden digital wires coming out of each diamond. Daphne was a light green open book with a golden dragon in the middle. Everyone had the same charms but each band that the charms were attached to were different. Each had silver and gold intertwining chains but each Winx had a different color thin ribbon weaved in between the chains. Bloom had a blue ribbon, Stella had yellow, Musa had magenta, Flora had pink, Aisha was teal, Tecna had purple, and Daphne had light green.

"Wow Stella these bracelets are amazing and so beautiful." Bloom said as she looked at her charm bracelet. All the Winx agreed they were so happy that they now had symbols of their bond and friendship to have with them even when they were apart.

"I'm glad that you guys like them, I worked really hard to come up with the design." Stella blushed at the praise from her friends as they all came together for a group hug.

"Hey Winx I have an idea for a spell to use that could be useful in emergencies." Daphne stated "We can put a spell on each of the charms that represent each one of us. This spell will connect our energy levels to them. If anyone of us is ever in extreme danger the charm will start blinking rapidly as it reacts to your speeding pulse and magic and as we get weaker the blinking will slow down. I'm not saying that anything bad will happen, but it won't hurt to be cautious especially since the Trix are on the loose again. And since we won't always be together this way we can always know when we need each other."

"Daphne is right we should do it. I know with that I can be at ease knowing you guys are safe." Bloom looked to her friends hoping that this will truly be a waste of time.

Tecna stepped forward and said "Bloom is right it is logical to always have a simple and effective mode of emergency communication."

The rest of the Winx nodded in agreement and began to cast the spell on the charms. Once the spell was complete they came together in a big hug and each prayed that they cast this spell for no reason.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm starving let's eat!" Stella exclaimed and breaking everyone's deep thoughts. With that the Winx giggled while they headed to the cafeteria to grab dinner and talk about their summers at home.

* * *

"Well sisters we need a new plan to take care of Bloom and the Winx once and for all." The white long hair witch told her sisters.

"But what can we do, Icy? They always find a way to beat us no matter what we do." The curly purple haired haired witch responded.

"Stormy has a point. And it doesn't help that Bloom has the 'inextinguishable Dragon Flame', her power alone is practically invincible." commented the witch with long brown straight hair.

"Hmm... good point Darcy, maybe we should also find a way to harness an 'inextinguishable' power as well." Icy took a moment to think of possible solutions to this "Maybe we can find some clue at Domino, and if anything we can spy on the Royal family and maybe find their weaknesses to use against Bloom."

Stormy jumped up "Great idea Icy!"

"But first we need to stop by Cloud Tower and check out a book of from the library." Darcy said

"Why would we do that?" Sneered Icy

"Because I remember reading something in a book that can prove quite useful in finding an invincible magical power."

Icy smirked at the idea of beating the Winx with Domino's help. "Hmm...ok to Cloud Tower!"

The three witches smirked as they opened a magical portal to their old school.


	3. Chapter 2: An Ancient Legend

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Well this is the first time I have ever written anything like this. So if you can please take a bit of time to just comment to help me get better will be very much appreciated. _

_Thanks for taking the time to read my story, ENJOY! :-D _

**'**Thinking to oneself**'****  
****"**Talking**"**

* * *

**Chapter 2  
**_**An Ancient Legend**_

It has been two weeks since the Winx started their new school year and they were helping set up the decorations for the Homecoming Party. When Ms. Faragonda and Griselda walked in and looked around. "Good Job Ladies! Everything looks marvelous."

Bloom flew back down from hanging the ceiling decorations to greet the headmistress "Thank you, Ms. Faragonada we are all really excited for the Dance it should be the best one yet. Right, guys?"

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Especially since the Homecoming Committee choose Musa to be the DJ and not to mention they asked me to be the host. That alone will make this party fit for royalty." Stella exclaimed

"Now Stella, do remember to be proper and not get too carried away in being the host. This party is for everyone's enjoyment not just yourself." Griselda told the fairy of the shinning sun with a stern glare.

Stella gave a gasp while placing a hand delicately against her forehead as she feigned sadness. "Of course I know that Griselda, it hurts me to think you don't think so." Griselda looked slightly guilty for saying what she did when she saw Stella's reaction, while the rest of the Winx only rolled their eyes at their blonde friend.

"Well I just need to make sure you do Stella" Griselda said as she adjusted her glasses. "Now carry on girls and keep up the good work" Ms. Faragonda said as she and Griselda turned to leave.

As soon as they left the auditorium Stella turned to look at the other Winx and exclaimed "Well lets finish up soon girls I have a date with my Brandon tonight and it will take me a few hours to look fabulous."

The Winx giggled at their blonde friend "But Stella you always look fabulous" stated the nature brown haired fairy "You are so right Flora, but today is our anniversary and I want to really wow him tonight."

"So what are you guys going to do tonight? Anything special?" the bright fiery red haired girl asked her best friend. "I have no idea what we are going to do, Bloom; Brandon said that it was going to be a surprise. But I don't care what we do as long as I get to spend time with my love I'll be happy" Stella's eyes brightened as she began daydreaming about Brandon

"Awww you are so deep in love Stella, it's so cute." Aisha stated "Well I could the same thing about all of you guys too. We are all so happy in love and I can't really think of anything that could make us happier!" responded Stella. All the Winx laughed and nodded their agreements as they all daydreamed about their wonderful boyfriends.

"Well let's get this finished so we can all go get ready for a night out!" Exclaimed Bloom. All the Winx shouted their agreement and quickly finished up decorating.

All the girls walked up to their rooms to start getting ready before their dates arrived. 'I wonder if Sky will be able to come out tonight. He's been so busy recently I hope his responsibilities as King-in-training doesn't overwhelm him.' Bloom worried. She looked at her phone to see that he replied to her text 'I can't wait to see you tonight. 3' Bloom smiled happily when she saw this. She then happily skipped to closet to pick out the perfect outfit to wear.

After a while, all the girls were ready and eager to have a night out and Stella really did go all really looked like she was glowing in her short yellow dress with red trimming. Her hair was tied up in a half ponytail and her hair was perfectly curled and shining. Her jewelry was simple giving her a mature and radiant presence.

"Wow Stella impressive" Aisha commented. "I know right this night will be a night that Brandon will always remember." Sighed Stella as she gracefully spun around to show off her outfit.

Just then there was a knock at the door. Musa went to open the door to see the Specialists each holding a bouquet of flowers, though Brandon was holding the biggest bouquet of all. "Come on in guys" Musa stepped aside to let the boys in. They each went up to their girlfriends and gave them a kiss before giving them the flowers. Each girl was so very happy especially Stella when Brandon said "You look more radiant than ever, my princess." "Why thank you my handsome knight." Stella stepped forward to give Brandon a sweet kiss.

"Now what do you say we get out of here, and start our romantic date?" Brandon winked at Stella "Yes, lets. I'll see you girls later." With that all the girls left except for Bloom.

Bloom sighed and looked at her phone 'Looks like Sky is going to be late. That's ok I don't mind waiting for him.' She sat down and started reading a book to pass the time. Before she knew it, it was already midnight and Sky had yet to arrive. Just as she was about to give up and go to bed Bloom heard a knock at the window. 'I wonder what that could be…' She opened the door to the balcony and saw her prince charming on his hover board.

"I am so sorry I am late Bloom. I got caught up with a meeting, but I rushed here as soon as it was over. I hope you can forgive me." Sky looked down ashamed at himself for letting his love down. He was sure that she was going to slam the door on him, but was surprised to be tackled in a hug. "What? I thought you would be mad" Sky hugged back confused "I am just happy that I finally got to see you. No matter how long it takes I would wait for you Sky, I love you." Bloom looked at Sky, eyes filled with her strong love and Sky knew he felt the same for her. They kissed each other for a while before breaking apart.

"So are you hungry Bloom?" "I'm Starving. What did you have in mind?"

"Well since it is so late I thought that I could cook you something instead of going out? Though I'm not a very good cook but I will try my best for you"

Bloom giggled "Sounds wonderful I'll help you. Just to make sure you don't burn the place down." She winked at the last part.

Sky laughed "Sounds like a good plan. Let's get cooking." Sky took Bloom's hand and lead her inside to have their romantic night in together.

* * *

"Darcy we've been looking all over this huge library for weeks and we can't find that book you mentioned. I'm getting tired of pretending that we are students here again. It's so boring." Stormy complained as she threw aside another book.

The Trix had to disguise themselves as freshmen in order to get in and search the library without anyone suspecting them. They were also forced to attend some classes as well. They hated it but Darcy insisted that the clues they are looking for were in that book she had once read.

"Are you sure it exists? I have a feeling that you made it up" Icy confronted Darcy.

"I know it's here somewhere. I was forced to write a paper on it or else go on a field trip to a stupid fairy museum." Darcy said as she grabbed another book off another shelf and read the cover: _History and Legends of Domino_. "I found it!" Darcy exclaimed.

"Really? Finally!" Both Icy and Stormy dropped the books they were looking at and flew over to Darcy to take a look.

Darcy turned to the section that told of the ancient legends of Domino. Here she started reading to her sisters what the pages contained:

"Over 3,000 years ago when the magical dimension was under constant attack of dark forces constantly trying to tip the scale in favor of evil, lived the peaceful planet of Domino. Even when the rest of the magical dimension was unstable, Domino was always protected by the good and pure power of the Sacred Dragon Flame. Since the Dragon Flame gave the first Queen of Domino a part of himself and his power, to help protect her kingdom for the times when the Sacred Dragon had to hibernate, Domino was the only kingdom that knew what peace truly was. But because of this, the past Kings and Queens tried to avoid contact with those outside their realm in hopes that the chaos will not reach their peaceful Kingdom, especially since a princess was born with the Dragon Flame only once every other generation. But their peace did not last; evil forces managed to sneak into Domino and corrupted some of the good natured citizens. The Dragon Flame and the Queen always managed to keep the evil under control until it seemed to almost disappear. But what no one expected was that all the evil growing in Domino decided to come together to become one huge powerful force, who came to be known as Eldus. Eldus was a master of dark curses, he took joy in watching his victims slowly suffer as they came to their untimely end. He would have successfully tipped the scales permanently to evil if it wasn't for the young Queen Jeanne. She is known as the most powerful Fairy ever to be born with the Dragon Flame. As a princess she had different ideals then the rulers before her, she strived to help the other realms know the Peace that Domino knew, even during the time when she was fighting off Eldus' attacks. It is said that she was the only one known to have been able to cure those infected with dark curses. When she married her King, her one true love; Eldus left Domino to attack other realms and gain more power. About a year after Queen Jeanne's daughter was born, Eldus returned to Domino and placed a curse on the king and princess in revenge. Jeanne couldn't destroy the powerful curse placed on her family; instead she took the curse upon herself in order to save their lives. She then immediately proceeded to confront and battle Eldus in the Valley of Darkness. After days of fighting Queen Jeanne managed to stop and seal away the invincible Eldus and single-handedly saved the magical dimension, but at a great cost. She expended all her energy and gave her very life to protect her family and the magical dimension to seal away the dark sorcerer, Eldus. Legend claims that if Eldus' power is ever released from the seal, the Magic Dimension will fall to the forces of evil, since it is said that no one as powerful as Queen Jeanne will ever be born again."

"Well Darcy that was a very interesting story and it gave me a great idea." Icy said "We are going to head to Domino and release Eldus' seal and take that power for our own. With that not even Bloom will be able to stop us, then we will truly be invincible."

The three witches laughed wickedly as they opened and walked through a portal to Domino.


	4. Chapter 3: Last Night of Peace

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Well this is the first time I have ever written anything like this. So if you can please take a bit of time to just comment to help me get better will be very much appreciated. _

_Thanks for taking the time to read my story, ENJOY! :-D _

**'**Thinking to oneself**'****  
****"**Talking**"**

* * *

**Chapter 3  
**_**Last Night of Peace**_

A few days have passed and it's finally time for the homecoming dance. All the Winx are dressed up in their flattering above the knee length party dresses, all designed by none other than Stella. She was still over the moon with the beautiful engagement ring on her finger she received from Brandon on their anniversary. The Winx smiled when they remembered how Stella told them.

*Flashback*

Bloom and Sky had fallen asleep watching a movie on the couch and since the Winx knew that they never spent time with each other they tried not to wake them. All of a sudden there was a huge bang as the front door was swung open and a blonde fairy came in the room screaming "Winx! Winx! Something Happened!"

Everyone was on alert and Bloom and Sky jumped up off the couch expecting an attack. When nothing happened they looked to the Solaria princess and saw her posing majestically holding out her left hand. It took only a second to notice the huge diamond ring with three yellow diamonds on each side of the middle diamond on her ring finger. Everyone screamed in joy seeing their friend was going to marry her handsome knight.

"Oh my gosh Stella! Congratulations you must be so very excited!" Bloom exclaimed as she hugged her best friend.

"I couldn't believe he proposed it was so romantic! We went to the best restaurant in Magix and he hid the ring in my champagne glass. When I finally realized what it was I looked up in time to see him get on one knee and say 'Stella, my beautiful sun princess will you do me the great honor of brightening my day, every day for the rest of our lives?'" Stella went over and kissed Brandon at the memory "Of course I said yes!"

Brandon smirked and said "Of course after she tackled to me to the ground and kissed me" Everyone laughed because they knew that is exactly what she would do. The girls ended up talking until late at night about Stella's dream wedding while the boys took their chance to escape the unavoidable girl talk.

*End Flashback*

As Daphne walked in and saw the Winx she stated "Wow Stella you have outdone yourself again."

"Don't worry Daphne I made a dress for you too." Stella magically transformed Daphne's clothes to a light green beautiful knee length party dress. "Thanks Stella now I am ready to party all night." The Winx laughed and started to head down to the auditorium to get ready for the start of the Homecoming Party. As they entered the auditorium they saw Griselda giving her final approval on the decorations. The Winx went over to greet the Assistant Principle.

"Why hello Winx, you ladies did a splendid job on the decorations. But do remember to keep the music to a respectable level Ms. Musa."

"oo Griselda lighten up, it is a party after all." Ms. Faragonda said as she walked into the auditorium. "Now you girls enjoy yourselves tonight"

"Yes, Ms. Faragonda!" Once Ms. Faragonda and Griselda left they proceeded to start playing the music and opened the doors to let the students in. This was going to be a very big party especially since both Alfea and the Red Fountain Specialists were coming. Once the auditorium was filled the Winx decided it was time to really get the party started and went on stage to perform a song. Stella, got on the mic to get everyone's attention. "Hello everyone! Are you excited for this party?" "Yeah!" the whole auditorium shouted.

"Great! Now would you like to hear a song from the Winx to really get this party started?" Cheers of agreement erupted in the auditorium. "Well then this party goes out to all the students! We wish you the best this year. And don't forget to believe in yourselves, you are all amazing!" She turned to the Winx "Hit it girls!"

(**Winx Club in Concerto: Unica** watch?v=B-RCKH7v-f0 )

After the song started the Winx saw their boyfriends walk in and wave at them. Just with them coming in, the mood of their song changed slightly, but noticeably. It was still energetic and uplifting the only difference is that you could feel the love that they felt for their boyfriends come out in every word and note they played. Everyone who heard their song in that moment could tell how powerful their love was.

Once the song was over the Winx bowed and Musa let her music play while she went to greet Riven with the rest of the Winx.

"Bloom you were great up there!" Sky said as he gave Bloom a kiss.

"Thank you Sky. I am so glad that you were able to make it."

"Of course I made it Bloom I really didn't want to miss you play on stage. I love watching you up there smiling down at me." Sky winked

Bloom giggled "Oo Sky, you always make me smile"

"And I always love to see that smile. Now may I have this dance?"

Bloom nodded and took Sky's hand as they began their dance and the beginning of a beautiful night.

* * *

"Darcy how much longer do we have to keep searching? We have been wandering around Domino for days now. How hard is it to find this 'Valley of Darkness'?" Stormy complained

"Well Domino is a pretty big planet and it's not like we can just go up to people and ask 'Hey do you know where we can find the Valley of Darkness and the sealed away Eldus?' They will figure out who we are and then all this trouble we went through would be wasted"

"Ugh! Doesn't that book of yours give directions or a map of where to go?"

"It's a book of legends not a book of maps, of course they're not going to give you directions of where to find the extremely evil legend for just anyone to find and look for." Darcy remarked as she rolled her eyes at her sister.

"Enough you two! Look, that forest up ahead I feel a slight sinister aura coming from it. Let's check it out we may have just found the Valley of Darkness'" Icy said as she flew ahead of her sisters.

As the sisters got closer to the forest they were stopped by a barrier. Icy placed a hand on the barrier to see how powerful it really was "How cute they put such a weak barrier to ward off intruders. Too bad it is nothing for the Trix. Sisters!" She said as she positioned herself a few feet away from the entrance of the forest followed by Darcy and Stormy.

"Trix Convergence!" After a few seconds a section of the barrier broke opened for the Trix.

"Excellent, let's get going" They flew into the forest and started to follow a faint dark aura that was getting slightly stronger the more the Trix went deeper into the forest. They kept going until they saw a shrine in the middle of a huge crater.

"I think we just found what we were looking for" Smirked Icy.

Stormy flew closer to the shrine to get a better look "Are you sure guys? The power I feel coming out of here is not anywhere near as strong as us I don't think this Eldus guy was as strong as the book made him out to be." She reached out to try to open the shrine doors when she was thrown back by a powerful force.

Icy and Darcy went over to check on their curly haired sister "Hmm...well that explains why the energy levels are so weak there's an extremely strong multi-layered barrier protecting the shrine and probably another one protecting the relic." Noted Darcy

"Let's see if we can dispel this barrier together. Hurry up and get up Stormy I want to get this power now." Icy commanded

Rubbing her head Stormy slowly got up and joined her sisters in getting ready for another attack. "Trix Convergence!" Once they realized that nothing happened Icy said "Again! Use more power this time!"

With as much as energy as they could muster they tried again "TRIX CONVERGENCE!" Once exhausted they collapsed on the floor. "Ugh nothing happened! Not even a dent!" Stormy yelled while she pounded her fist into the ground. "Darcy doesn't the book mention how to dispel this barrier?" Icy looked at the witch of darkness.

"I'll take a look but I doubt it." Darcy started to flip through the pages in hopes of finding something. She turned to a chapter titled 'History of Darkness' Strength' and she read an excerpt out loud of that chapter. "For as long as anyone can remember darkness resided in the magical dimension and light has always been able to keep the balance. But there was always one night every 50 years that darkness would gain an advantage. The citizens of Domino would always look to the light even in the darkness of the night, but they would waver when their moons would align and cause a darkened darkness..." Darcy paused as she tried to think of what that could mean.

"Well what does that mean?" Stormy asked in frustration.

"I think its talking about a lunar eclipse." Stated Icy

That's when it hit Darcy "That's right we had a lesson on that. It was in that class that Professor Editrude taught about Hexes. She said that the best time to cast a hex on someone or gain immense temporary power was during lunar eclipse, when the moon did not have a chance to give off its pure light in the darkness. Lunar eclipses makes our magic stronger while slightly weakening good magic."

With that the Trix looked up to the night sky and noticed that they might be in luck with a lunar eclipse tomorrow night. Stormy got up and looked to her sisters "Well we're lucky there seems to be a lunar eclipse tomorrow. Once the eclipse is complete we will dispel this barrier and release Eldus. Tonight we will rest and in the morning let's go spy on Domino castle and try to find something to use against Bloom and Daphne to burn time."

The Trix laughed as they began to settle for the night and have good dreams of all the evil they planned to do once they freed Eldus.

* * *

The Homecoming party was a huge hit. Everyone was reluctant to head to bed after having so much fun all night, but every night had to come to an end eventually. Sky and Bloom were both very reluctant to let go of each other's hand and say 'good-night' so they decided to walk around the gardens for a bit before their night ended. "Oo Sky I wish this wonderful night didn't have to end so soon."

"I know Bloom, I feel the same. But I promise that I will come to see you again in a couple of days." Bloom looked at him shocked, usually when he spent so much time with her like this she wouldn't see him for at least a couple of weeks because of his responsibilities. "You don't have to Sky I know you are busy helping your father rule Eraklyon."

"Don't worry about that Bloom. I want to take you out on a nice date just the two of us. I want to show you how much you mean to me."

"But I already know how much I mean to you, just as you know how much you mean to me."

"Do you not want to spend time with me Bloom?" Sky pouted

"No that's not what I mean. I just don't want you to get in trouble with your father again." Bloom said shyly

"Don't worry about that Bloom. Just think of me and our date ok?"

"Ok, Sky" Bloom said with a big smile and gave him a sweet loving kiss.

Daphne looked down at her little sister with a smile from her room balcony. "What are you staring at Daphne?" Thoren asked his wife. "Nothing I'm just happy that Bloom is so happy with Sky I hope nothing happens to come between them."

"Do you think something will?" Thoren curiously asked.

"I hope not, I don't know I guess I'm just being worried that tomorrow is going to be a lunar eclipse on Domino." Daphne looked to Thoren with a small smile

"What's wrong with a lunar eclipse?"

"Nothing really it's just after being a disembodied spirit for so long I learned that when there are powerful beings like Bloom, an equal if not stronger power will want to rise and during a lunar eclipse is a perfect opportunity for such a great evil to rise or awaken." Daphne giggled at her paranoia "Oo I'm just being paranoid and over protective again, sorry about that Thoren."

Thoren gave Daphne a hug "Never be sorry for being a good big sister Daphne" The nymph of Domino looked up at Thoren and they shared a deep kiss before saying good-night. After Thoren left and Daphne settled in bed, her last thoughts were of her sister 'I hope the lunar eclipse will be uneventful… for Bloom's sake'


	5. Chapter 4: Injured in Battle

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I'm not very good at coming up with fight scenes so I apologize if it's not very good :-/ _

_And I so do appreciate the few comments left, they really get me motivated to write this story more. Thank you so much. _

_Well anyway, thanks for taking the time to read my story, ENJOY! :-D _

**'**Thinking to oneself**'****  
****"**Talking**"**

* * *

**Chapter 4**  
**Injured in Battle**

Bloom woke up wondering what she was going to do on this beautiful Saturday. Since the rest of the Winx were out on dates she was left alone with Kiko. "I wonder if Daphne is still around, maybe she wants to go have lunch with me. We can go to Magix and maybe do some shopping or we can go home for the weekend I hear the lunar eclipse is tonight that sounds like an exciting event don't you think Kiko?" While heading to Daphne's room, Kiko jumped up and down in excited agreement. Knocking on Daphne's door Bloom slightly opened the door and poked her head in "Daphne are you here? I was wondering if you wanted to hang out together." 'Hmm… I wonder where she could be.' She then heard her sister's voice coming from the balcony so Bloom started to walk over when she saw her sister's blonde hair. "Hey Daphne who are you talking to?"

Daphne turned around to see Bloom walking towards her 'Oh no I hope Bloom didn't hear anything. Better hang up the phone' she quickly turned her back to Bloom and whispered into her phone "Sorry got to go, Bloom just got here. I'll call you back later."

"Hey Daphne, sorry I didn't mean to interrupt your phone call. Who were you talking to anyway?" Bloom asked as she hugged her sister "Oh no one in particular. So what are you up to Bloom?" Daphne asked in hopes of distracting her little sister. "Oh that's right. I was wondering if you wanted to go home for the weekend…" "NO!" "…or go shopping at Magix… Daphne, why don't you want to go home? Is something wrong?" Bloom asked concerned from her older sister's reaction.

'What can I say? We can't go home now…' "Umm… I have a lunch date with Thoren tomorrow and if we go home I'm worried that I will be late or miss it." Daphne smiled at her quick thinking 'I'm going to have to call Thoren and really go on a date tomorrow or Bloom will suspect something.' "Oo ok then let's just to Magix to grab some lunch and do some shopping. We can find the perfect outfit for to wear on your date tomorrow." "Sounds like a great plan, Bloom." 'Phew, I managed to get out of that one.'

"Well let's get going I'm starving, and it seems that Kiko is too." Daphne said as they both giggled when they saw Kiko trying to nibble on his own ear. Bloom giggled as she picked up Kiko "Aww poor Kiko let's go get you a snack and then we can head to Magix."

* * *

"O poor Daphne, I hope Bloom doesn't get suspicious and pressure Daphne." The Queen of Domino turned back to her husband. "Now where were we my dear, Oritel?" Queen Marion said as she held out her hand "We were just about to sit down to have lunch with our unexpected guest." King Oritel took his beautiful wife's hand and led her to where their guest was waiting for them

"Your majesties I apologize for this sudden request of an audience with you." The blonde blue eyed tall guest said as he bowed to the King and Queen. "Oo don't worry about that. You know you are always welcome here and there is no need for formalities between us." "Thank you your majesties you are too kind."

"Now my dear let's go into the dining room and have ourselves some lunch, you must be hungry or at least thirsty from your long journey here." Queen Marion said as she turned to the doors that led to the dining room "Well, I am feeling a bit hungry now that you mention it." The guest said shyly "Good because we have plenty of food to eat." The king said with a laugh. And they proceed to follow the Queen to the next room

* * *

"Stop pushing Stormy!" "But I can't see anything Darcy! How can I spy if all I see is the back of your head?" Icy turned around to scold her sisters "Well if we get caught with your constant bickering then we really won't be able to spy on anything anyway. So both of you shut it."

With that the sisters were silenced and they quietly snuck past the gates of Domino castle. Since they placed an invisibility spell on themselves it was very hard for anyone to notice that they were sneaking around the palace grounds. They decided to take a quick tour around the palace gardens in hopes to find someone to mess with. "Look sisters there are some gardeners weeding the rose bushes" Icy smirked. "OO lets make the weeds come to life and attack them." Stormy suggested "We can't have that much fun Stormy or they will be on a look out for us, and we still need to spy on Bloom's parents." Stormy crossed her arms and pouted in frustration "What if we just give them endless work to do? They look almost done imagine if the weeds kept growing back." Suggested Darcy with a grin. "Good idea Darcy simple, but annoying" Each sister casted the spell to each corner that the gardeners were working in.

"What the-?!" One of the gardeners jumped up "I keep pulling and pulling weeds but more and more roots keep coming out!" "I'm having the same problem!" the second gardener shouted. "But I pull out one weed and another immediately grows in its place." While the gardeners were dealing with this unforeseen situation the Trix flew away snickering at their handiwork.

As they flew towards one of the high balconies they heard some familiar voices coming from inside. "Do you hear that Icy? Doesn't that voice sound familiar?" "Your right Darcy. Let's take a closer look, it sounds like someone we really hate" The Trix flew closer to the open balcony doors and crept closer until they had a clear view inside.

"Looks like we just found Bloom's parents. Now I wonder who they are talking to." Just then the Trix noticed who the King and Queen were having lunch with. "Well, well, well who do we have here? Looks like this day is going more and more in our favor, don't you think so, sisters?" Icy said with a cold smile "Can we do some damage Icy?" Stormy asked with an evil grin on her face. "Why not once we finish our spying lets have some fun and damage Bloom's beloved prince."

* * *

"Oh Sky it has been absolutely wonderful to have you over and talk to you about the future, but I'm disappointed that some unwelcomed guests have arrived." Queen Marion told Sky with a disappointed smile. "I'm not surprised you noticed them my talented Queen. How do you suggest that we deal with them?" Sky looked at the King and Queen in slight confusion at what they were talking about, until he focused his senses and noticed that there was a slight aura of evil very close by. He looked slightly shocked at Bloom's parents and how relaxed they were about intruders in their castle so he decided to just play along with them.

"Well, my dear since they are trying to surprise us why not surprise them instead? I know how much you've been wanting to sneak up behind someone with your little trick." The Queen said as she winked at her husband. "You know me so well my love. Let's have some fun with this." He bent down and kissed her softly before getting up. Loudly the King looked to Sky and said "I am very sorry Prince Sky, but you must excuse my early exit, but there is something that I must attend to at this moment. My darling Queen will take care of you from this moment on."

Sky got up and bowed slightly to King Oritel "Thank you very much your majesty for your time and accepting my selfish request. Do take care until our next meeting." The king nodded before heading out the door and into the hallway.

* * *

"Oo how perfect, looks like the powerful King is leaving them all alone and defenseless. This is going to be so very easy." Icy stated with an evil smirk

"Who exactly is defenseless here?" The Trix turned around and saw King Oritel behind them charging up an attack. "You wouldn't dare shoot at us here, not when your Queen is right behind us! You might hurt her!" Darcy said with a confident smirk "I'll take my chances, you witch!" With that the King swung his enchanted sword and hit each of the witches with one blow. Since the Trix weren't expecting it they let their defenses slightly fall.

"I thought you loved your wife!" Stormy remarked once the slight explosion from the enchanted sword's spell and pain subsided. King Oritel stepped toward the Trix, smiled and said "I do love my wife very much and I know that she is never defenseless. She has the most powerful defensive magic in this universe." He loving looked at his wife and Sky safely behind a barrier perfectly unharmed. "Oo my love, you flatter me so." Queen Marion said with a slight blush as she lowered the barrier but not her defenses and glared at the Trix.

"Now explain why you Trix are here, before you are sent to a life sentence in prison." King Oritel asked "Wouldn't you like to know, Your Majesty." Icy spat. "Sisters!" the Trix immediately jumped into the air and started their attacks. Icy sent her Ice shards toward Sky, while Darcy attacked Queen Marion with her Shadow of Darkness, and Stormy sent her lightening blasts at the King.

The King and Sky pulled out their swords and cut down the Trix's attacks easily, while Queen Marion raised her barrier and sent the attack back to Darcy. Surprised Darcy took the blast full on and fell hard. 'Well this isn't going as well as we planned.' Darcy thought as she slowly got up and rubbed her now sore back. She looked at the King and thought of an idea. "Hey Icy let's exploit their weakness." Like Icy could read Darcy's mind she gave her sister a smile at her clever idea. "Good idea Darcy." Icy turned to the King and said "I do hope you gardeners are just as good at dodging as you are, your majesty... Stormy!" Stormy jumped over the King and landed at the far end of the balcony and started to charge her lightening blasts and aimed for the working people down below.

"No, Stop!" the King shouted as he charged at Stormy. As soon as he started charging Darcy began attacking Queen Marion and Sky. While everyone was distracted Icy slammed her hands down and froze the half of the balcony that Stormy and the King were on. "What the-?" King Oritel stopped right before Stormy and turned around in time to see Icy stomp her heel down hard on the frozen floor. It caused the frozen balcony to start to fall apart. As soon as he realized Icy's plan King Oritel sprinted as fast as he could to the safe part of the balcony, but when he couldn't run anymore he tried to jump the rest of the way over.

He was just a little too far to make it fully across. He managed to throw his sword to safety and grab hold of the end of the balcony, but his legs were dangling in mid-air. 'Dam so close I need to get in better shape...OO No the gardeners!' "Marion!" The Queen looked towards her husband as soon as she shot another blast at Darcy and it took her a second to realize the situation on hand. In that moment she began to run towards her husband and cast a strong barrier then sent it down to the gardeners. 'I hope I was fast enough' Queen Marion thought as she jumped to grab her husband's hands just as he lost his grip on the edge and started to fall.

"Well fancy meeting you like this my love." King Oritel said looking up with a smile as soon as he realized that he was no longer falling to his doom. "Yes, fancy that. You really shouldn't try so hard to just hold my hands, darling." Queen Marion giggled at her King. "Well it's the only way I can think of to get your attention… So how long are you going to leave me hanging beloved?" The Queen smirked at King Oritel "Well I thought that we could take the time to enjoy the beautiful view." King Oritel looked down and saw that everyone down below was safe, Queen Marion's protection spell made it in time and no one seemed to be harmed. "You are as talented as always, my Queen." "Just as much as you are, my King." she said with a smile as she used her magic to lift her husband to safety. "Thank you my dear." He gave his wife a brief hug and turned to see Sky impressively fending off the Trix by himself. "Now let's help Sky finish this battle quickly." He held out his hand to Queen after he picked up his sword, and she eagerly took it. Together they started to build up energy to focus one huge blast at the Trix. King Oritel's sword started glowing powerfully bright before he took it in both hands and swung at the Trix.

The Trix and Sky looked toward the King and Queen in time to see a powerful slash-like blast head toward them with amazing speed. Queen Marion casted a protective spell towards Sky so that will he be unharmed by the aftermath of their attack. Unfortunately, Icy noticed this and decided to send one more attack towards Sky in hopes of finally destroying him while he was distracted. "Black Icicle!" Sky looked up in time for his reflexes to kick in and bring up his sword to block most of the blast, but a small part of the attack hit him in the chest. He fell backwards as the King and Queen's blast hit the Trix dead on and sent them flying.

"Dam that hurt! Icy we should leave while we can I don't think we have enough power to win this and still release Eldus tonight." Whispered Darcy. "Ugh you're right Darcy we need all our strength to free him." Icy looked down at the wounded Prince "Hmm... well at least Bloom's prince charming will be giving her the cold shoulder from now on." Icy laughed as she led her sisters away from the Domino castle and toward the Valley of Darkness.

* * *

The king and Queen watched as the Trix flew away after their attack "A job well done, my dear" "Yes, my Queen together we can do anything." The king leaned down and kissed his Queen softly before looking around and assessing the damage.

He first heard his wife gasp before he saw what she saw. Sky was unconscious in the barrier that Queen Marion placed for him. "Oh no! Sky! What happened? Did he get hurt from our attack?" The king asked his wife as she looked Sky over. "No, this injury seems to have been made by an attack from Icy." She stated as she saw the bruise that formed on Sky's chest, but was very cold to the touch. "I'm concerned Oritel. Since he was hit on the chest his condition could be worse than it seems." "What do you mean Marion?" The Queen looked up to look at King Oritel and said "Remember whenever Belladonna, the ancestral ice witch, would injure someone in the chest with an ice attack the external injury wouldn't be serious but what killed them was the internal injury... their heart would freeze over and stop beating..."

"We need to get him our best healer. Guards! Get Meditrina immediately" "Yes, your majesty." They left took off running to get the healer. "In the meantime we should take him to one of the guest rooms to rest." "Your right my Queen let me help you." The King carried Sky to the room "Do you think we should call Bloom?" King Oritel asked "We should at least wait until Meditrina looks at him. Remember Daphne said that it could be dangerous if Bloom comes to Domino today." "Yes, your right my Queen. Let's see what Meditrina says then we will go from there. I hope Sky isn't hurt as bad as we think."

* * *

The Trix finally made it to the Valley of Darkness. They had to take the long way around because they were being followed by the royal guards. They finally managed to lose them and cast their invisibility spell so they could finally make it to the valley without anyone knowing.

"That was a close one Icy." Stormy complained "Well at least we are safe now" Darcy stated "Yea let's get rested before it gets too late. We are going to need all our strength to release Eldus."

"And with Sky permanently out of commission Bloom will be easy to get rid of now, especially with the power that we are going to gain." Stormy said with a smile "Oo but we are going to have to make her suffer greatly for all the pain she put us through over the years." Icy commented with an evil grin. The sisters laughed in joy at the thought of Bloom's suffering at their hands.

The Trix then rested around the makeshift campsite they made the night before, excited in gaining the ultimate dark power in just a few hours.

* * *

Meditrina spent a couple of hours examining Sky and trying many different possible healing spells to save his life. After a while she got up and walked over to the King and Queen of Domino.

"I am sorry your majesties but I am just not strong enough to counter this powerful dark magic." The healer looked down, ashamed of her lack of power. "Don't be ashamed, old friend it is not your fault. You did your absolute best that is all we could ever ask for." King Oritel said as he placed a comforting hand on Meditrina's shoulder.

"Thank you your highness. But there is one thing we haven't tried yet though." "And what could that be?" Queen Marion asked

"Princess Bloom might be powerful enough to heal Prince Sky. With her power and her deep love for Prince Sky, it might just be enough to save his life. But we need to act with haste or else his condition will be irreversible" The King and Queen looked at each other. "Then that leaves us no choice we have to call Bloom to tell her to come home and hope that nothing happens during the lunar eclipse."

* * *

"Oo Daphne that dress we found looks absolutely perfect on you. Thoren will be speechless tomorrow" Bloom said as her and her sister ate at a small cafe in Magix.

"Well I hope he's not that speechless I would like to hear a compliment from him at least." The sisters laughed at the thought of Thoren being completely stumped at the sight of seeing Daphne in her new dress. Their laughter was interrupted by Bloom's cell phone ringing.

She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was their Mother. "Look Daphne Mom is calling I'll put her on speaker phone... Hi Mom how are you? I have you on speaker phone with Daphne" Bloom said as she placed the phone in front of both her and Daphne as a digital projection of their Mom appeared. "Hello Dear, I'm doing well..." In that moment Bloom knew something was wrong just by looking at their Mom's solemn expression.

"Mom, what's wrong is Dad ok?" "Yes dear your Father is perfectly fine we both are... But… Sky isn't..." Bloom paled at what she just heard. "What do you mean?" She managed to ask while Daphne comfortingly wrapped her arms around her little sister. "The Trix showed up at the castle and attacked us. During the fight, Icy managed to hit him with her Dark Icicle attack and he was slightly hit in the chest. Meditrina says that if we don't heal him soon he won't make it. I'm so sorry, honey..."


	6. Chapter 5: The Broken Seal

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Here is moment we have been waiting for (or at least I have ;-) ) entrance of the true villain ... I hope it will be exciting to you as it was to me, and I hope the jumping between character activities is not too confusing. :-) _

_And I so do appreciate the comments left, they really really got me motivated to make this chapter a bit more suspenseful. Thank you so veryyy much. _

_Well anyway, thanks for reading my story, ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 5  
The Broken Seal**

Bloom paled at what she just heard. "What do you mean?" She managed to ask while Daphne comfortingly wrapped her arms around her little sister. "The Trix showed up at the castle and attacked us. During the fight Icy managed to hit him with her Dark Icicle attack and he was slightly hit in the chest. Meditrina says that if we don't heal him soon he won't make it. I'm so sorry, honey..."

Bloom couldn't believe what she just heard 'No! It couldn't be true, not Sky.' Tears started falling down her face and she blocked out everything from her mind.

"Bloom? Bloom!" Daphne tried to get her little sister's attention when she didn't respond to what their mother just said "Oh no, I think she just went into shock." 'She can't lose Sky or she might lose herself too. I need to make her come to her senses, we need to get to Domino, NOW!' "Daphne can you do anything?" Queen Marion asked "I think I have an idea that might just work..." 'O I've only seen this in movies I hope it works in reality...' Daphne turned Bloom to face her "Well here goes nothing..."

_SLAP_

"Huh? What?" Bloom reached up and felt her stinging cheek. She looked up and saw her sister looking at her with a very worried expression. "What are you doing Daphne? Did you just slap me?" Daphne let out a sigh of relief 'Thank goodness that worked.' "I'm sorry Bloom, but you were going into shock and I needed to slap you out of it. We need to get to Domino immediately!" That's when it hit Bloom 'Sky is hurt...he might not make it...I need to get to him...NOW!' Bloom looked at her sister with new tears forming in her grief stricken eyes "Daphne I'm scared... I can't lose him... he's everything to me." "I know Bloom that's why we need to get to Domino, there's a chance that you might be powerful enough to save him." Bloom didn't need to hear the details all she needed to know was that she could save Sky, and that was what she was determined to do. Bloom abruptly got up and opened a magical portal that led to Domino. With determined crying eyes she slightly turned to Daphne "Let's go Daphne." "Right behind you Bloom" Daphne was already up and gathering all the stuff that they had bought that day and left more than enough money on their table to cover their meal, and followed Bloom through the portal home. 'I hope everything will be ok and I hope that no demons awaken tonight.' Daphne thought as they traveled through the portal.

* * *

"Meditrina start preparing everything you will need to teach Bloom she will be here any minute now." "Yes, your majesty." Meditrina bowed and rushed out of the room to gather all the items she needed to give Bloom. As soon as the healer left the room, Bloom and Daphne arrived. Queen Marion saw the look on her youngest daughter's face and ran over to give her a hug. "Hey Mom...Where's Sky?" Bloom asked shakily after returning her mother's hug "Right in the next room Dear." They all went to the next room and as soon as Bloom saw Sky lying in the bed she ran to him. She reached up and cupped his face and gasped when she felt how cold he was. "Oo Sky... I'm here don't worry I will save you." She grabbed his hand and looked up to her Mother "Mom what do I have to do?"

Just then King Oritel came in followed by Meditrina. "I'm so sorry about Sky, Bloom." The King walked over and placed a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. "It's ok Dad it's not your fault. What happened to the Trix?" "Unfortunately, we lost track of them." The King looked down ashamed. "It's ok Oritel we will find them soon enough, but now we have more important matters to attend to." Queen Marion motioned to Meditrina to come forward and speak. She bowed before the royal family when she stepped forward then she presented her book to Bloom. "Princess Bloom all you have to do is read these notes on the pages I marked and it will show you what you need to do to save Prince Sky's life." Bloom took the book and skimmed through some pages and saw that the healing spell was a bit complicated.

Meditrina noticed a slight concerned look on Bloom's face "As you can see Princess this is an ancient magic and it is the only one I know of that will heal this kind of injury. It is a bit complicated, but don't worry I will be here the entire time to guide you. I will start the spell and you will finish it, that way your magic can connect with my knowledge and together we can save the Prince. But you will need to know the basics of it so the magic will focus in healing his freezing heart and not his minor injuries. The main thing that you will need to focus on is concentrating all your pure magic and love in healing Prince Sky's heart." Bloom nodded and started to read the pages of the book.

* * *

While Bloom was studying the book the rest of the royal family stepped out of the room to give her privacy. Daphne looked to her parents with a worried expression "I know my dear this day isn't going as we planned." King Oritel said as he put a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder. "I'm worried Dad, if our history is true Eldus might stir from his eternal slumber." "I don't think so dear, someone will need to try to break the seal first in order for him to fully escape and there hasn't been anyone who has been able to get past the outer barriers let alone the inner barriers." The king said "I guess your right Dad, it's just things seem to be going more and more in Eldus' favor and I just hope it is all just a coincidence."

Queen Marion stepped forward and said "Come on you two lets go get dinner started. Bloom will be hungry after all her studying." "Your right my beautiful wife lets help Bloom in any way we can even if it is just our support and a warm meal." The three of them walked towards the kitchen but Daphne was still worried as they walked down the hall.

* * *

'This ancient magic is more complicated than I thought. But at least I get the basic understanding of it.' She looked to Sky's paling face and continued to read "I will save you Sky, just hold on."

"Princess Bloom, did you have any questions you wanted to ask me?" Meditrina softly asked "Yes, I was wondering when we can start the healing spell?" "You mustn't be so eager to start a spell you have never used before Princess Bloom. I know you want to save the Prince but it will not help him if you get hurt in the process." The healer stated 'Sigh' "Your right Meditrina I should first practice." "If you like, I can help you Princess." "Thank you that would be great."

The two practiced until Daphne walked into the room with their dinner on a cart. "Hey Bloom how is it going?" "Good Daphne I pretty much have it nailed, I just need a little break before we get started. So you are just in time thanks." Bloom and Meditrina went over and each grabbed their dinner and started eating with Daphne.

"Hey Daphne where are Mom and Dad?" "They just had to check up on something. They should be back soon though." Daphne shrugged off 'I probably shouldn't worry Bloom about Eldus yet, she needs all her focus on Sky right now. I hope Mom and Dad find that everything is ok in the Valley of Darkness'

The sun was just about to start setting when the King and Queen of Domino were just about to have the Valley of Darkness in their sights "Let's hurry Oritel, I want to get back to the girls before Bloom starts to healing Sky." "Yes I agree my dear, but with Daphne so worried this is the only way to settle her fears."

The King and Queen finally had the Valley of Darkness in their sights when they noticed what they dreaded the most. The outer barrier was broken. The King looked to his Queen "We need to call and warn Daphne."

* * *

The sun was just about to set when Bloom, Daphne and Meditrina finished their meal and were going through one more practice run before they started to heal Sky. "Hey Daphne, do you think Mom and Dad will be here soon? I really want to heal Sky as soon as I can, he's getting colder by the hour." Bloom said as she carefully held Sky's hand worried that it might break since he felt ice cold. 'I wonder what is taking them so long…' "I don't know Bloom I'm sure they won't mind if you start without them" "Yea, your right Daphne." Bloom looked to the healer "Let's get started Meditrina, I don't want to risk waiting anymore than I have to." "Yes, Princess Bloom." Meditrina said as she opened the book and started turning to the page they needed. Just then Daphne's phone started to ring. She looked down to see that her mother was calling "I'll be right back Bloom…go ahead and being healing Sky" Daphne said as walked out of the room before she answered the phone

"Hey Mom we were just wondering if you were going to get back soon Bloom is just about to start healing Sky." "I don't think so dear, there's a problem…someone has broken through the outer barrier of the Valley of Darkness" Daphne paled a bit at what she had just heard 'Oh no Bloom is in danger.' "Are you sure the barrier just didn't weaken over the years and wore off?" she asked hopefully "No I don't think so, Daphne. There is only a small section of the barrier that is broken while the rest of it is fully intact and just as powerful as when it was first placed." King Oritel stated. "We were just about to go inside and look for the culprits before they get any ideas of freeing Eldus." The king said with his sword already drawn. "Ok Dad. Both of you please be careful you don't know how powerful those intruders are if they managed to get through the outer barrier." "Don't worry dear we will and we will update you soon. In the meantime watch out for your sister and Sky." "I will Mom, Love you guys and good luck." "We love you too Daphne bye." As soon as Daphne hung up the phone she realized 'Oh no I have to stop Bloom… if she continues she can involuntarily help in freeing Eldus.' Daphne abruptly turned around and burst through the room hoping that she wasn't too late.

"Bloom STOP!" As soon as Daphne looked into the room she knew it was too late. Bloom had already transformed was just finishing the last part of the healing spell…looking out the window the sun had already set and the lunar eclipse was just about to start… there was no turning back now. 'Oh no, I'm too late! ... There is only one thing I can do now.' "Daphne Nymph of Sirenix!" she said as she transformed into her fairy form. "Daphne what are you doing?" Bloom asked as she continued to heal Sky "I'll tell you later Bloom just concentrate on saving Sky!" Daphne told her sister as she put up a special concealing barrier around Bloom and Sky. 'I hope this barrier will be enough to hide Bloom's high level of magic. If not Eldus will fight the seal from within and possibly break free. I hope Mom and Dad stop whoever is trying to break him out before it's too late'

* * *

"Now sisters, it's time to set Eldus' dark magic free from its unjust prison!" Icy said as she looked up at the start of the lunar eclipse. "Oo this is so exciting Icy! We are so close in gaining invincible power!" Stormy said as she excitedly bounced up toward her sisters. "Don't get too excited now Stormy you need to focus before you mess everything up." "I know Darcy relax sheesh." Stormy remarked.

"Alright sisters summon your Whisperian Crystals and let's get started." Each of the Trix focused their powers to summon each of their powerful crystals. Icy's White Blue crystal, Darcy's deep purple crystal, and Stormy's dark red crystal appeared and formed a triangle slightly above them, each crystal surging with raw power. The Trix giggled as they surrounded Eldus' shrine, while their crystals hovered right above it.

Icy looked up at the sky and saw that the Lunar eclipse was nearly complete "Ready, Sisters?" Icy asked "Yes, Icy!" Darcy and Stormy responded together. They each focused their energies before saying in unison "TRIX CONVERGENCE!"

* * *

"Otriel we have been walking for a while now and we haven't found the intruders. Do you think that they might have already left?" "I don't think so Marion I have a feeling that once we find the shrine that holds Eldus' sealed artifact, we will find our intruders."

After a moment of walking deeper into the valley they looked up and noticed that the eclipse was almost complete "Oritel I can feel Bloom's power even from here we need to get to the shrine and make sure no one is trying to free Eldus." "Yes let's hurry and pray we are not too late." Just then they felt the Tix's power and another power slowly stirring from where the Trix where.

"Oo No it's the Trix!" Queen Marion stated as soon as they ran into the clearing and saw the Trix trying to break the inner barrier and the seal. "Dam we should've known no wonder they were around earlier..." "Are we too late Oritel?" "It's not too late my dear we just need to stop the Trix before they break the seal." With that the King and Queen attacked the Trix.

"What the-!" Icy yelled as she ducked her head in time to just miss getting hit by an attack from the Queen. 'Dam they weren't supposed to know that we were here. This makes things a little more difficult.' "Sisters put up a barrier around this place. NOW!" "But Icy how do you expect us to put up a barrier while breaking this seal?!" Complained Stormy. "Do it Stormy or everything will be for nothing!… besides I feel Eldus' power helping us from the inside." Stormy and Darcy nodded in agreement and a small barrier was placed, just powerful enough to stall the King and Queen long enough to release Eldus.

"Looks like we are going to need our convergence power in order to take down the Trix's Barrier" Noted King Oritel "Alright, ready Marion?" the King held out his hand to his Queen and she instantly took it "Yes Oritel, together!"

* * *

'Oo no, I can still feel Bloom's power emanating from the Concealing Barrier I need to make it stronger…' Daphne struggled in her attempts to hide Bloom's power but she knew that since her little sister is a very powerful fairy and now that she is trying to save Sky it might be impossible to hide her incredible strength.

"Bloom are you almost done?!" Bloom was straining in getting her power to higher levels to melt the ice that was forming in Sky's heart "I don't know Daphne every time I melt a section of ice, it grows back stronger and thicker…"

"Remember Princess Bloom you not only need to focus on melting the ice but you also need to warm Sky's heart with your love." the healer stated 'Meditrina is right, I need to warm up Sky with my love for him. I need to remember all the things that I love about him and our time together' Thinking of her love for her Prince made her powers stronger and Bloom decided to use every last bit of energy she had in one last attempt to melt away all the ice in Sky's heart in one shot "Please work…" A bright red light radiated from Sky as Bloom put in everything she had into the healing spell.

Daphne looked outside and saw that the lunar eclipse was a couple of seconds away in completing she turn back around in time to understand what Bloom was about to do. It took everything that Daphne had to keep the concealing barrier up and to keep it from breaking apart. After the bright light subsided Daphne looked into the barrier to see if Bloom succeeded. "Bloom are you ok? Did it work?" "I'm ok Daphne just a little tired…" Bloom walked over to Sky and cupped his face and sighed in relief to feel that he no longer felt as cold as before "Sky can you hear me? Please wake up…" Bloom's tears started fall when Sky still didn't respond "Please Sky open your eyes, say something… I need you… come back to me…" Bloom looked to Daphne "Daphne I don't think it worked… I failed…"

* * *

"Just a bit more Marion!" The King and Queen were using most of their strength in taking down the Trix's Barrier in the limited time that they had. Looking up they noticed that the eclipse was close to being complete. "Oritel look!" The Queen said as she pointed to the moon "We need to stop the Trix now!" "Yes, let's try one more blast." Building up more energy, the King and Queen sent a powerful blast to the barrier and brought it down.

"Dam time's up Icy we need to break this seal, like yesterday!" Shouted Stormy. "Your right, Stormy! Sisters, put everything you have into this…NOW!"

* * *

Daphne brought down her barrier and rushed to her sister when she noticed Bloom starting to lose her balance and put a supporting arm around her. "Bloom its ok these things can take time…" "I hope your right Daphne… Please Sky…" Just then Bloom felt sudden evil energy surge go through her 'What was that? It felt so powerful, but what could be as powerful as me on Domino…?' Suddenly Bloom felt dizzy and started to fall. Daphne caught her before she hit the floor "Bloom are you ok?" "Daphne something is very wrong… a strong negative energy just appeared on Domino…" As soon as Bloom said that Daphne felt a huge negative power as a slight earthquake shook the room.

Worried, Bloom reached out and touched Sky's hand as she began to loose consciousness. Just then Sky's eyes began to flutter as he weakly squeezed Bloom's hand in response. "…Bloom…?" Bloom smiled in relief when she heard Sky's voice. That relief was all it took for her to succumb to the darkness of unconsciousness.

* * *

As soon as the Trix's barrier was down the King and Queen simultaneously aimed powerful blasts at Icy. "AAAHHH!" Icy shouted in pain as the blasts made direct contact. Once Icy was hit the Tirx's convergence was broken and Darcy and Stormy lost control of the Whisperian Crystals. Their raw power exploded towards the shrine and blasted the Trix, the King and the Queen back. The chain reaction from the explosion was so strong that it could be heard and felt from miles away.

King Oritel and Queen Marion were sent to the very edge of the clearing, the farthest away from the shrine. "Marion are you ok? Can you get up?" The king as worriedly "I am alright Oritel... Did we succeed?" Queen Marion asked as she shakily got on her feet "I don't know my dear…" They both turned to look toward the shrine and noticed that the dust from the explosion was starting to clear up. Just then they heard an evil laughter and a tall man walking out of the clearing dust.

"Well, well, well... looks like Jeanne's eternal seal wasn't so eternal after all…"


	7. Chapter 6: Eldus

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Leonard, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_ Thanks for reading and following my first story ever written! I so do appreciate it! _

_And Thank you sooo much for any comment left behind, they really inspire me to write faster lol_

_ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 6  
****Eldus**

The King and Queen of Domino both turned to look toward the shrine and noticed that the dust from the explosion was starting to clear up. Just then they heard an evil laughter and a tall man walking out of the clearing dust.

"Well, well, well... looks like Jeanne's eternal seal wasn't so eternal after all…"

The King and Queen gasped in shock at the sight of a tall man dressed in all black with deathly black eyes walking toward them with an evil grin on his face. They couldn't believe that there was a being in the whole magical dimension that was able to have such cold emotionless eyes and have such a powerful evil aura surrounding him.

Brushing some dust off his shoulder Eldus looked around the clearing "hmm... what do we have here?" he said as he spotted the King and Queen. He took a moment to carefully look at them. "Woman, you are a descendent of Jeanne aren't you?" Eldus said as he glared at Queen Marion. King Oritel stood in front of his wife and held out his sword defensively "You don't belong here demon. You will be returned to your seal before long so don't get comfortable." Eldus scoffed at the King's words "Looking at your current state I do not believe that you are one to make such bluffs." he said with a smirk when he saw how weak the King and Queen looked. The King scoffed at the slightly transparent demon in front of them. "Well, you don't look any better." Eldus frowned at what the King noted "It may be true that I do not have all my powers at this current time, but I am still much stronger than you. All I need is good stretch to get the dark magic flowing" Eldus said as he stretched his arms behind is back, then suddenly threw a dark and powerful blast at King Oritel.

Instinctively, the king brought up his sword to block the attack, but blinked to see that Queen Marion placed a protective barrier around them. "I'm surprised that you were able to block that attack and still have your barrier intact." The evil sorcerer said slightly impressed. "Well, someone of Jeanne's blood should have at least some talent in them, I suppose." Eldus shrugged "You were sealed once, you will be sealed again!" Queen Marion remarked "O I hardly think so, foolish queen. I know that Jeanne was a rare powerful fairy to ever be born to Domino let alone the magical universe, and even she couldn't fully get rid of me. All she managed to do just seal me away to prolong the inevitable, and died for it. She pretty much washed her hands of her failure and left the future unprotected" He shook his head with a matter-of-factly grin. "And from what I can tell right now, your majesties…" he remarked sarcastically. "…there is no one who even matches relatively close to her power in this universe let alone this planet. Meaning I will easily take over the magical dimension soon enough." His evil smile sent chills down the King and Queen's spine.

"What should we do Oritel?" Whispered the Queen. "Let's try to stop him here. We may be weak right now, but so is he. There's a chance that we can at least injure him enough to prolong his full revival, giving the royal guard enough time to arrive and subdue him." the King whispered back "Yes, your right let's do it." With that Queen Marion placed a barrier around Eldus to restrict his movements and to block his vision, while King Oritel charged while building up energy in his sword to attack Eldus.

"You think that this weak barrier of yours will even slow me down?!" With a dark laugh Eldus sent out a burst of energy from his body and easily broke through the barrier. He broke it just in time for him to see King Oritel's enchanted sword go through his chest. "You made a big mistake your majesty." King Oritel gasped "What? How? My enchanted sword is able to cut anything with magic." he felt a sharp pain on his back when Eldus hit him with a small dark blast. "In this form I can cut off the magic flow in the area that you aimed at, foolish King." Eldus remarked with a laugh as he punched the King's torso with a powerful dark blast and he was sent flying and landed a couple of feet away from his Queen. "Oritel!" Queen Marion ran to her beloved and crouched down to check on him "Are you ok Oritel? Please, open your eyes!"

Queen Marion looked up to see that King Oritel's sword was lying on the ground by Eldus' feet. 'I need to get Oritel's sword back we are going to need it to defend the universe.' The Queen slowly stood up thinking of a plan to get the sword back without using up all her magic. "O do you think that you can take me on all by yourself, even after you saw what I did to your King?" Eldus said with a smirk. Queen Marion looked down at her love and placed a protective barrier around him "You have no idea what I am capable of Eldus!" with that the Queen shot multiple fire blasts at the evil sorcerer while running towards him. Eldus kept easily blocking each blast sent to him with a bored look on his face. As soon as Queen Marion was close enough to the sword she sent a huge fire blast at Eldus followed by a huge gust of wind to make the blast even stronger. Eldus crossed his arms in front of his face to protect himself from the blast and he was forced back a few feet. He lowered his hands to see that Queen Marion had grabbed Oritel's sword and was running back towards her King. "Not so fast!" Eldus shot one of his dark blasts and it hit the Queen's left shoulder sending her falling face first right next to her husband. She slowly got up and grabbed her injured shoulder and glared back at Eldus to see him walking closer to her.

Eldus approached the Queen slowly and looked down at her with his black emotionless eyes. "Now it's your turn to burn, Queen, but since you are blood of the fairy that sealed me away I will make you suffer greatly for what she did to me. And I think I have an idea of how to make you suffer without receiving any physical pain yourself" Eldus smiled as he looked down at the unconscious King. Queen Marion had tears forming in her eyes as she looked at Eldus with hatred and disgust "Heed my words Eldus you will be stopped. For now, you will not have a chance to touch either of us." with that Queen Marion casted a teleportation spell and escaped the Valley of Darkness with her love.

* * *

Meditrina and Daphne had just placed Bloom in a bed in the next room from Sky's to rest. Meditrina was looking her over to make sure that she was fine before stepping out of the room with Daphne. "Don't worry Princess Daphne, Princess Bloom will be perfectly fine after she rests and recovers her strength. In the meantime we just need to keep a close eye on her, she should wake up in a day or two." 'Sigh' "I'm happy Bloom will be fine, and I am so thankful you are here to care for her. But now I'm worried about my parents." "Why would you be worried for the King and Queen?" Meditrina asked "surely they are powerful enough to deal with any trouble that they come across, they did defeat the ancestral witches after all."

"I know but you never know when they could be caught off guard, and the ones that they are currently fighting might turn out stronger then my parents." Daphne sighed as they walked into the sitting room. Meditrina closed the door behind them after telling one of the maids to bring some tea while they waited for the return of the King and Queen. 'The eclipse is over they should be back by now… If they don't return soon I am going to go look for them. I should probably call Thoren I don't like feeling so alone and useless…" Daphne thought as she stated to reach for her phone to call her husband.

Suddenly a bright light blasted a few feet in front of Daphne, at the end of room by the balcony doors. "Princess!" Meditrina exclaimed and ran towards the princess in an attempt to shield her from whatever was going to happen. "What the-?" Daphne exclaimed as the light started to fade away. Daphne and Meditrina looked up and saw Queen Marion holding the unconscious King on her lap. The crown princess was shocked to see her strong parents bruised and weak; their clothes ripped and torn while one lay, hopefully just, unconscious. "Mom? Dad?!" / "Your Majesties!" Daphne and Meditrina both said as they ran to the King and Queen "What happened?!"

"O Daphne… it's terrible… we need to… to prepare dear…" Queen Marion said in-between breaths "Prepare? Prepare for what?" "Your majesty you mustn't speak so much, you have completely exhausted all your magic. You need to take it easy." The healer stated as she started to treat the King's more serious injuries "Our greatest fears …have happened Daphne…" Daphne paled in fear of what her mother was going to say next "… the Trix… released Eldus…" the crown princess gasped in horror as her mother fell backwards into Daphne's arms, unconscious.

* * *

"Hmm... well that was boring. Now let's see who is left." Eldus turned around and saw Stormy and Darcy on the floor next to a slowly waking Icy. They were still by the area where his shrine once stood. "Let's see, I guess I should assume that you three are the ones who freed me?" he asked as he walked over to them. Rubbing her head, Icy slowly stood up to confront the sorcerer in front of them. "Yes, we are. But you weren't supposed to be alive, only your power should have remained." "Oo so you thought that if you released the seal my power would have no choice but to go into you three, resulting in infinite power. Is that correct?" "Well, yea no one should be able to survive 3,000 years sealed or not, let alone be as young as you look." Stormy remarked

"You would be correct, if I wasn't an immortal." "That's impossible!" stated Darcy "And yet here I am..." Eldus glared at Darcy for speaking back at him. Darcy looked away since his glare sent chills down her spine.

Eldus straighten up and waved off the animosity growing between them. "How rude of me, I have forgotten to properly introduce myself." With a small bow Eldus introduced himself. "I am Eldus the **immortal** dark sorcerer of curses" he looked up and extended a hand towards the Trix "…and who do I owe the pleasure?" The Trix looked up confidently and returned the introduction starting with Icy "Call me Icy, the Witch of Ice." "I am Darcy, the Witch of Darkness." "Stormy, the Witch of Storms." "And we are the Trix!" Eldus looked at them in wonder "I have never know witches to ever come together in a coven…hmm… interesting. And since your names are self explanatory of your powers it should be easy enough to remember them." "Why you stuck up -!" Stormy said as she started to charge up her lightening attack.

"Now now calm down there… Stormy, was it?" Eldus said while holding up his hands. "Well I should thank you three Witches for releasing me. I was getting tired of my tiny living conditions." Eldus said as he stretched out his limbs. "I do believe that I should reward you for your valiant efforts…" he thought out loud with a hand on his chin, pondering on how to reward them, he turned to the Trix. "What would you like as a reward? Wealth? Love? Someone's death?…" With a grin he added "…Or perhaps you would like to taste infinite power?" "Power!" The Trix responded in unison "Hmm… I thought so. I would more than happy to grant you more power than you can even imagine, but right now I cannot." "What? Why not?! We should be rewarded for all the work we did to get you out of your stupid little rock!" retorted Stormy

"You are so correct my dear, but you see, you only released one of the two seals that were placed on me. You only released my mind, but not my body. Without my body I am incomplete, I don't have the control to properly grant your wish." "You had enough control to take care of Marion and Oritel easily enough." Remarked Icy "Of course I did, Icy, causing someone bodily harm is easy for anyone to do. You don't need proper focus and stability for that. If I aim for one's head but hit their heart instead, I'm not concerned the result will be the same. But if I try to give you powers I need your new powers to slowly and properly merge and become one with your old powers or the consequences could be dire…" "What kind of consequences?" Darcy asked

Eldus took a moment to think about that "Well, it could be anything: from you just permanently losing your powers to you suffering excruciating pain for days or even weeks before inevitable death." Eldus said as he raised his arms and shrugged his shoulders. The Trix were shocked and speechless at what Eldus had just said.

"Fine, if that's the case how do we go about releasing your body so we can be rewarded?" Asked Icy as she started to walk towards the relic. "Well, my dear we will need to get somewhere safe for you three to recover first. You will need all your power in order to release the second seal and in the meantime I will teach you the spell required to undo it easier." Eldus responded with a sweet smile. Icy thought of where they could go that would be easy to shield their powers.

"Let's go to Lord Darkar's underground castle. No one will think to look for us there and our dark powers will be disguised by the castle's dark power." Icy stated with an evil grin. "Lead the way my dear." Eldus said as he stepped aside and holding his arm out indicating to Icy to proceed.

"Sisters." Icy said as the Trix gathered up their remaining power to open up a portal that led to Darkar's castle. The sisters were about to walk through the portal when Eldus stopped them "Wait my dears…aren't you forgetting something…" He said as he pointed to the relic on the ground "Why don't you pick it up yourself?" remarked Stormy "I would but currently I don't have any physical hands to do so." Eldus said as he bent down and waved his hands through the relic a few times proving his point that currently he is the equivalent of a simple ghost. 'Sigh' "Stromy go grab the rock." Icy commanded "Ugh but Icy…" "Hurry up. The faster to grab it the faster we can get out of here. Or do you want to face the royal guards?" Icy remarked.

Crossing her arms Stormy stomped toward the relic and bent down to pick it up. "Wait! Don't pick it up…" Eldus warned a little too late "What? Why?" Stormy interrupted before grabbing hold of the relic "…bare handed…" Eldus finished and slapping his left hand on his forehead. "Stormy!" Icy and Darcy exclaimed when they saw their sister sent a couple of feet away from the relic. "Owww. What the HELL Eldus?!" Stormy screamed at the sorcerer while rubbing her head.

"I thought you guys studied up on this…" "We never found the details of your seals." Icy responded. 'Sigh' "Jeanne's husband, King Leonard, wanted to make sure no one of the Dark Arts were able to set me free, and if they did manage to release one seal he made had a 'back-up plan', so to speak. He knew that it would take an immense power to undo the first seal, so they would be too weak to undo the second seal. So he made it so the relic could not be removed by evil, from this spot, leaving enough time for the royal guard to come and seal my mind away again before my body was released." Eldus told the Trix.

"Well now what are we supposed to do? We practice dark arts so of course we can't touch it!" Darcy stated in frustration. Eldus turned to point towards the trees where Queen Marion and King Oritel were earlier "Use the ripped cloth from Jeanne's descendant's dress, which she so generously left us. It is still covered in her positive energy so it should be fine for you to use it to pick up the relic." This time Icy got up and flew over to the cloth left at the edge of the clearing and picked it up. She flew back and over to the relic and carefully placed the cloth over the rock and folded the cloth underneath with a stick before standing up. She held the cloth like a hammock with the relic hanging in the middle. "Ok good. Let's go." Icy said as she headed towards the portal keeping the relic at arm's length in fear it might touch her. Her sisters follow soon after.

Eldus started to follow them but stopped to look back at the clearing. 'Well, Jeanne looks like the game begins anew and this time I will be victorious.' Eldus giggled before following the Trix through the portal.


	8. Chapter 7: A Vision from the Past

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Leonard, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I apologize for the slight delay and hope you will keep reading my story! I so do appreciate it! _

_ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 7  
****Vision From the Past**

'Where is this place?' Bloom wondered as she looked around. She was surrounded by dark and sinister looking trees. She tried to transform so she could fly above the trees to get a better vantage point or at least find someone that could help her, but found that she was still too weak to do so. Instead, she started to walk deeper into the dark forest until she started to hear voices. "Hello, is someone there?... Can you help me?... I... I think I'm lost..." she entered the clearing and immediately covered her eyes as a gust of wind suddenly picked up and sent dust and debris into the air.

Once the sudden wind settled down, Bloom looked around and saw that the valley she was standing in looked like a huge battle just took place. 'What happened here?' that's when she saw a beautiful woman wearing what seemed like the royal garments she saw in portraits of past royals, lying on the ground, unmoving. Bloom started to rush to help the young woman "Hey are you ok? Do you need help?" She got closer and saw that the woman looked like she was sleeping peacefully with a soft smile on her face. That was until Bloom noticed that the woman was no longer breathing. Bloom gasped at this sudden realization and started to tear up at the loss of one so young. "I wish I knew who she was so I could find her family for her..." suddenly there was a bright light coming from this beautiful woman and Bloom shielded herself from the intensity of the light "What is going on?"

When the light subsided Bloom looked up in shock at what she saw. The woman that was dead before her was also standing in front of her, but she looked almost transparent and she was wearing an elegant long flowing white silky dress. Bloom looked up at the spirit and then down at the body trying to comprehend what was going on. "How is this possible? You can't be in two places at once..." Bloom slowly started to back away from the situation in front of her.

"Don't be frightened young Domino Princess, you are not in any danger." "I don't understand... how do you know I am a Princess of Domino?" Bloom stopped and believed what this woman said 'Why do I believe her?' "I can sense the Sacred Dragon Flame coming from within you, and only a Princess of Domino can have that power." "How do you know that? Who are you?" "I am Queen Jeanne of Domino, well in spirit anyway." she said with a small warm yet sad smile

'Where have I heard her name before?' Bloom thought trying to think back on her lessons on the royals of Domino. "That's right I remember seeing a portrait of you. You were a powerful Queen that lived over 3,000 years ago... But why are you here now?" Bloom started to worry that she might have used a little too much of her magic in saving Sky. "Don't worry you will awaken soon enough." Jeanne said as she saw the concern in the young fairy's eyes "The Magical Dimension works in surprising ways... it would seem that you were sent to past so I can give you a warning about the powerful enemy that I have just given my life to seal away" Jeanne said as she motioned to her body with sad and concerned eyes. "It seems that my seal was not enough to keep him sleeping for all eternity... like I had hoped..."

Bloom looked up with pity at Jeanne's spirit "Who did you fight against? How powerful was he?" "His name is Eldus, he is a powerful sorcerer of curses. His powers grow with the fear and suffering of the people he curses. He especially grows in strength when he curses someone who has a true love and has both lovers suffer. One watching their love die painfully before them while the other dies knowing that they are leaving their loved one with an irreversible broken heart." A tear escaped Jeanne's eyes as she thought of her own loved ones left behind.

"If he was as powerful as you say...how do I defeat him? How do I reverse his curses?" Asked Bloom. Suddenly Bloom heard a voice in the distance 'That voice it sounds familiar... I feel like I need to go towards it...' That's when the valley around her started to fade away. 'I still have questions!' "Wait! Jeanne! When will I fight Eldus? What do I do?!" Bloom turned around to see that Jeanne was starting to disappear with the valley. "Your battle has already begun. And don't forget Young Fairy you will need unyielding faith in yourself and in your loved ones in order to reverse any of Eldus' curses. You cannot doubt yourself, even for one moment, or he will take advantage of that and you will lose everything." Jeanne and the Valley started to fade away faster as the familiar voice got louder.

'No, not yet I need to know more!' "Jeanne what if I'm not ready to face him? What if I lose those I hold dear?" Jeanne looked at Bloom with a kind but serious smile "You will be ready Sacred Dragon Flame Guardian... and in order to completely defeat him you will need to find your sacred partner..." it was getting harder for Bloom to hear the late Queen "Where do I find this partner?! Who is it?!" Bloom yelled in hopes that Queen Jeanne could hear her question "... he is... with you... your... guardian... his name..." Bloom was not able to hear everything that Queen Jeanne said because everything had faded away to nothing "Wait! I couldn't hear you... Queen Jeanne!..."

* * *

"Daphne you shouldn't worry so much." Thoren said as he followed Daphne into Bloom's room. "But Thoren I can't help it... Eldus is free, both of my parents are severely wounded, Sky is still bedridden, and Bloom hasn't woken up yet... I feel... defenseless." her husband walked over to her and embraced her in a supporting hug. "It's ok Daphne they will all recover soon enough and besides that's why I am here... to protect you from evil, I won't let anything happen to you." the crown princess looked lovingly but with a hint of sadness at her love "But who will protect Domino from harm... I am no match for Eldus no matter how hard we both try...only Bloom has a chance to defeat him... and she's still unconscious..." Daphne walked over to her little sister and cupped her face hoping "Please, wake up soon Bloom..." Just as Daphne turned back to Thoren she heard Bloom stir in her sleep. "Bloom?" Daphne asked with a hopeful smile "Can you hear me?"

'Ugh, what's with all the noise? Why does my head hurt?... I feel like there's something that I should be worrying about... 'Gasp' Bloom's eyes shot open when she remembered everything... the vision, Queen Jeanne, and Sky "SKY!" She abruptly got up and she tried to run out of the room to find her love, only for her to immediately start feeling dizzy and she started to fall. Before her face made contact with the floor she was caught by her sister "Daphne...?" "Bloom you need to take it easy a little while longer your body must still be weak... Thoren can you help me lay Bloom back down please?" "Of course Daphne" Thoren said as he rushed over and easily lifted Bloom and placed her back into her bed. Once on the bed Bloom started asking questions "Daphne where's Sky? Is he ok? Did the healing spell work? Why isn't he here?" Daphne smiled warmly at her little sister "Don't worry Bloom, Sky is perfectly fine, you saved him. He's not here because he is under strict bed rest because he has pneumonia, a side effect of Icy's attack..." Bloom looked at her sister with a very happy smile "Thank goodness he made it. When can I go see him?" "Once Meditrina has looked you over and says it is ok for you to walk around and see him. We don't want you getting sick too"

Daphne giggled a bit and the frustrated face her little sister gave her and she turned to her beloved "Thoren can you please go find Meditrina and tell her that Bloom is awake." Thoren nodded and looked to Bloom before heading out of the room "Glad you are awake now Bloom, I know Sky has been asking about you non-stop, so just take it easy so you can visit him sooner." Thoren winked at Bloom as he left the room. Daphne saw that her little sister was still pouting over not being able to go see Sky immediately "I know you want to see Sky now, but you did use up all your magic in one go so your body and powers need to properly recover. I mean you have been asleep for two days after all."

Bloom was shocked at this news "What! Two days?! But then that means that it's Monday! I have a class to teach!" "Don't worry Bloom the Winx are already taking care of your class for you" Daphne continued when Bloom looked a bit confused as to why the Winx weren't here. "I called them yesterday morning after you still didn't wake up. They immediately came to check on you, they didn't leave your side for anything. But when nightfall came and you still hadn't awoken yet they knew you would be worried for your class so they knew they would have to go back to Alfea and tell Ms. Faragonda what happened and cover your class." "I need to thank them when I see them they're so amazing" Daphne smiled at how close Bloom was to her friends "Actually, Stella was very reluctant to leave your side she refused to even let go of your hand insisting that she will be first one you see, and how she wanted to be the first one to tackle you in a hug." Bloom laughed at that "That sounds like Stella alright. How did they manage to convince her to leave?" Bloom asked "They told her that being your best friend she will need to cover for your class, or you will be very sad that she didn't want to help you." "I'm going to have to really thank Stella now." Bloom said with a big smile.

Just then there was a knock on the door and Meditrina walked into the room. "Well, good morning Princess Bloom. How are you feeling?" "Good morning Meditrina. I'm good, just a little sore and tired." Meditrina started to use her powers to check Bloom's health "That's to be expected. All you need to do is rest up for the next couple of days and you should be back to normal soon." The healer said as she stood up and smiled at the youngest princess. "But I want to go visit Sky. I need to see with my own eyes that he's ok." insisted Bloom "Well I don't see a problem with that so long as you are helped to his room and you rest when you start feeling tired. It will take you longer if you don't let your body rest properly, ok?" Meditrina said with a warm smile "Deal!" Bloom looked to Daphne "Can we please go see him now?" Daphne giggled at the puppy eyes that her little sister was giving her "Let's wait until after breakfast and after he's woken up. ok?" Bloom slightly pouted but agreed to the terms.

"If you will excuse me Princesses there are other patients I must attend to." The healer bowed and started to walk out of the room. "I'll be right back Bloom I forgot to ask something." Bloom just nodded and Daphne followed the healer out of the room and closed the door. "Meditrina how are my parents doing?" "They are doing much better Princess. Hopefully, by tomorrow I can take them out of the sleep spell I placed on them." Daphne stiffly nodded "Thank you for all your help Meditrina." "No problem Princess Daphne it's my job to heal and take care of the royal family." the healer said with a proud and loving smile. she bowed and left to check on the King and Queen.

Daphne reentered Bloom's room only to see her sister trying to sit up and she rushed over to her. "Bloom... you are supposed to be taking it easy..." she said as she put her arms around Bloom's shoulders to support her "I know I just wanted to get my phone so I can call the Winx and let them know I'm alright." Bloom said as she reached for her phone. "Here let me help you, Bloom." Daphne reached over and gave her sister her phone. "Thanks Daphne" She dialed Stella's number and waited for her to answer the phone "BLOOM! YOUR AWAKE! ARE YOU OK? HOW DO YOU FEEL? ARE YOU OK?" Stella yelled excitedly into the phone "Yes Stella I'm ok a little tired but ok... but when do you and the girls think you will be able to come to Domino?... we need to talk... something has happened..." Stella noticed how serious Bloom was "We can be there late this afternoon... right after classes... so have dinner waiting for me, you know how hungry I get after teaching and meetings." Bloom rolled her eyes at her best friend "ok Stella we will have your favorite ready for dinner." "yay! see ya later Bloom!"

Once the phone call ended Bloom looked deep in thought about something "What's wrong Bloom?" 'Sigh' "It's a long story Daphne and I would like it better if Sky was around when I tell you." Daphne noticed that her sister needed Sky's and her full support for this 'Did she figure out about Eldus already?' "Sure Bloom I'll go see if Sky is awake and your breakfast should be here any second now." in the moment there was a knock at the door and Daphne went to get the door. It was a maid with Bloom's food. After making sure Bloom was all set and eating she headed out the room to check on Sky "thanks Daphne... you're the best big sister ever." Bloom said as she smiled at her big sister. "And you're the best little sister... I'll be right back" Daphne said with a smile. After she closed the door, she turned around she saw Thoren walking down the hall toward her. "Hey Daphne I came to tell you that Sky is awake and asking for Bloom." "Thanks Thoren I was just about to go see you two." Daphne looked a little down "What's wrong Daphne?" "I'm worried about Bloom's future... I need a book from the library... want to come with me Thoren?" Daphne asked as she held out her hand to Thoren needing his comfort and warmth right now "Of course Daphne... anywhere you go I will always be right behind you." he said with a warm smile. Daphne smiled at him and they both walked to the library.

Once they got the book that Daphne wanted they rushed to Bloom's room knowing that her little sister will be eager to see Sky soon. They knocked on Bloom's door and heard her tell them to come in. "You ready to go to Sky's room Bloom?" "Yup, you guys were taking too long I was starting to come up with a plan to go see him myself." Bloom responded with a mischievous smile and Daphne rolled her eyes at her eager sister. She turned to Thoren "Hey Thoren do you think that you can carry Bloom to Sky's room? She's still too weak to walk very far, and the more she's off her feet the faster she will fully recover." "Sure no problem..." Thoren walked over to Bloom and held out his arms to get ready to pick her up "You ready Bloom?" "Yup thanks Thoren." "No problem Bloom" Thoren said as he slowly lifted Bloom up and started to walk out of the room.

Once they reached Sky's room Bloom jumped out of Thoren's arms and stumbled to Sky's side. "Bloom!" "Sky!" they embraced each other tightly while Sky was still laying down on the bed "... I'm so glad you are ok... I was so worried about you..." Tears started to fall from Bloom's eyes in relief to really see Sky alive and awake, "... I thought I lost you..." Sky hugged Bloom tighter "Don't worry my love you can't get rid of me that easily." He said with a smirk. Bloom looked up into Sky's soft light blue eyes and they shared a deep loving kiss. After a moment they were interrupted by Thoren clearing his throat. Bloom and Sky separated and blushed in embarrassment for forgetting that they had company in the room with them.

Daphne looked at Thoren with a grateful expression. "I'm sorry to interrupt you guys but we need to talk about a few things..." The crown princess said with a solemn expression. Bloom looked at her sister and knew she was right, she would have plenty of time to be alone with Sky later, but first thing is first. "Your right Daphne..." Daphne nodded and said "You said that you had something to say Bloom?" Bloom looked down not knowing how to start. 'Well here goes nothing I hope they don't think I just had a weird nightmare...' "I had a vision from the past... I meet with Queen Jeanne of Domino..." of course Sky and Thoren had no idea who this Queen was but Daphne gasped at this news. "But how? She died over 3,000 years ago..." Daphne said confused "She said that Magical Dimension made it so I can go back in time to the moment when she sealed away her greatest enemy in exchange for her life. She said that I needed to be warned of the dangers that I was going to face and possibly give me a hint on how to stop it..." Bloom looked up at Sky with concern and love "She told me that I was destined to fight someone named Eldus. He is a sorcerer of curses and he gets stronger with each curse especially if the one cursed has a true love... but I don't know when I will have to face him or if I will be strong enough to really win..."

Daphne sighed and stepped forward holding out the book she brought from the library 'Well, this makes it a little bit easier to explain...' "Bloom you will face Eldus sooner than you think..." her younger sister looked at her older sister with confusion while she took the book that Daphne held out "How do you know Daphne?" "I know because Mom and Dad faced him while you were healing Sky... that is why I tried really hard to hold a strong concealing barrier around you while you were performing the spell..." Daphne hesitated over the next part that she needed to tell her sister but it was one of those things that it would become real once said out-loud "…and now they are in a small coma because they lost to him..."


	9. Chapter 8: The dangers of the Present

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Leonard, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I know that I said that I was planning on Bloom to face Eldus for the first time in this chapter... but... when I started I started to view a different chapter than I originally planned... soo as an apology I was able to post 2 chapters for you. _

_Thanks for everything and I'm sorry for the delay of posting these next chapters and hope you will keep reading my story! I so do appreciate it! _

_ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 8  
****The Dangers of the Present**

Bloom was shocked at what her older sister just said "How is that possible? Mom and Dad are so strong, they couldn't be defeated that badly by any enemy..." "I know Bloom, but they aren't invincible..." "But if they couldn't even wound Eldus how could I possibly seal him away again let alone defeat him like Jeanne said..." Bloom started to tremble at the thought of how powerful this sorcerer really is. She then felt something touch her knee. She blinked and looked up to see that Sky was trying to console her the best he could in his bedridden condition. She smiled and leaned down to hug him back, she took comfort in his warm, strong arms 'I need to be strong... and as long as Sky is with me everything will be fine..." After a moment Bloom took a deep breath and slowly released Sky from their embrace to look at Daphne

"How are Mom and Dad doing?" Giving a sad smile to her sister she decided to honestly tell her what the healer had told her "Well according to Meditrina: Mom wasn't too injured she just had some minor cuts and bruises with a bruised rib and sprained shoulder. She is in a small coma because of the same reason you were technically in one, for using up too much magic at once. Since she hasn't fought like that in a long time it took more of a toll on her body than expected so it is taking a longer time for her to wake up. Unfortunately, Dad is worse off... It seems that he took a direct hit at close range to his upper abdomen causing some internal bleeding and four cracked ribs..." Daphne started to tear at the thought of their father being so hurt in battle. She looked up to see that Bloom was feeling the same. "But don't worry, he had some surgery to repair the internal damage and he is to make a full recovery." Bloom let out a sigh of relief as soon as she heard that her father was going to be alright. "Why is he in a coma? and for how long?" "He is actually in a medically induced coma. Meditrina says that he needs to stay perfectly still for a few days to properly heal and monitor his deeper wounds. And since Meditrina is sure that, as soon as Dad wakes up he is going to try to go after Eldus even in his injured state instead of staying in bed. So a medically induced coma is safer for him. It will help him recover faster, heal properly, and he won't feel as much pain while recovering. Not to mention we won't have to worry about him sneaking out the window or something to chase after Eldus." Daphne said with a smile. Bloom smiled back knowing that her dad would climb out of a window to get what he wants.

"We can go see them if you want... Meditrina says that Mom might wake up today..." Bloom nodded and walked to her older sister and gave her a hug. Daphne smiled and looked up behind Bloom to see that Sky was trying to get up from bed. With her magic Daphne gently pushed Sky back down onto the bed and pulled up the covers to his neck so he couldn't move. "Don't even think about it Sky, you know that Meditrina said that you were on strict bed rest, at least until the end of the day." Daphne giggled at the stubborn Prince 'He's almost as stubborn as Dad.' "But sitting up a little bit should be fine..." retorted Sky while still trying to sit up in bed. "Nope, no exceptions you might get worse, and all of Bloom's efforts would have gone to waste... or do you WANT her to exhaust herself again trying to heal you?" Daphne smirked seeing that she won this little debate and let go of Sky's blankets. "Fine, You win..." Sky reluctantly said as he crossed his arms and started to pout. "Besides you are almost fully recovered the more you rest today the faster you will be free from your bed rest. Daphne said as she tried to cheer up the Prince.

Bloom giggled as walked over to Sky and bent down to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Just take a nice nap and I will be back before you wake up. Ok?" "Alright Bloom" Sky said as he smiled at his red haired girlfriend. "Hey Thoren do you think that you can keep a close eye on Sky and make sure he doesn't try anything while we are gone?" Daphne asked while Bloom and Sky were talking "Of course Daphne, but it will cost you." Thoren said with a smirk "A cost? What do you mean?" Daphne asked confused "It will cost you one sweet loving kiss from my beautiful wife for babysitting Sky." he responded with a wink. Daphne giggled and blushed as she stepped closer to Thoren "hmm... that sounds like a reasonable price for such a task." Daphne and Thoren kissed each other for a long moment until Sky loudly cleared his throat, but he started having a coughing fit since his throat and chest was still weak from the pneumonia.

"Oh my gosh! Sky are you ok?" Bloom asked as she hurriedly handed Sky some water. "Well that was real smooth Sky." Thoren commented after Sky's coughing settled down. "Looks like you can't be as cool as me after all." Smiled Thoren "Shut up... Thoren... and I don't need... a babysitter..." Sky retorted in between a few coughs. "Sorry cousin, you have no choice I have been paid in advance for my services. And I can't let my princess down." he said with a wink at Daphne. Sky started to pout again feeling like a child again needing to be watched. Daphne and Bloom giggled at the two cousins as they said their goodbyes and left the room.

After shakily walking down the halls and getting closer to their parent's room the sisters looked at each other briefly before opening their parent's bedroom door. "Let's hope that Mom and Dad wake up and give us some answers about what happened in the Valley of Darkness." Bloom nodded in agreement she turned to reach out to open the door and walked in, followed closely by Daphne.

* * *

"Hmm... This place is very cozy and dark... I like it" Eldus said with a smirk as he took a look around Darkar's old underground castle. "Yea and what's even better about it, is that it will hide our powers from nosy fairy's eyes and almost everyone has forgotten about it." Icy commented with an evil smirk. "Yea yea we all know how great this place is but we need to go rest or we won't be able to release the second seal anytime soon and I want my reward." Stormy rudely said "Yea Stormy's right, I'm exhausted" Darcy said.

"Yes, you girls go rest while I start to prepare everything that you will need in order to release the second seal." The Trix nodded while they walked down the hall to the bedroom that they stayed in the last time they were there.

"Hopefully those witches don't take too long to recover their magic I want to seek my revenge as soon as possible. Now let's see if there is anything that I can use in this old castle..." Eldus started to look around the castle in search of some tools that he would need.

* * *

It was early afternoon by the time the Trix had woken up and started to head to the throne room where they had left Eldus. "Sisters do you really think that we should fully trust Eldus? I mean it's not like we haven't been betrayed before." Darcy asked before reaching the throne room. "You worry too much Darcy." Stormy stated "We will be cautious regardless. If he tries to betray us we will just force him to give us power. Besides, if anything he can just destroy Bloom and the Winx for us, once and for all." Icy said with an evil grin as she opened the doors to the throne room.

The Trix looked around and saw that the place was a mess. "Oh good afternoon ladies. How was your nap?" Eldus asked as he stood up from sitting on Darkar's throne. "What are you doing Eldus?" Asked Icy "I was doing a little research on the items that we will need in order for you to release the seal properly without hurting yourselves." Eldus said with a smile "So then start teaching. I want my reward as soon as possible." Stormy stated

Eldus smiled at the eager witches. He walked over to the witches and handed each of them a piece of parchment with a long enchantment written on it "Now the seal is a three point seal. Meaning that it will take three different spells in order for you to break the seal. You three will take turns in performing your spell, so each of you will memorize the spell that I have handed to you. It will start with Icy, then Darcy than finish off with Stormy... Now here is the tricky part: as you might have noticed the last line of Icy's spell is the same as the first line of Darcy's. And the last line of Darcy's spell is the same as the first line of Stormy's. This is because as soon as the sister before you starts reciting their last line the next sister needs to start reciting their first line at the exact same time. So Icy and Darcy will be in perfect sync when saying that line and then Darcy and Stormy will be in perfect sync when it is their turn. Understand Ladies?" Eldus asked "Yea we get it... is this all we have to do to free you?" Icy asked

"I'm glad you asked my dear. There are a couple things that we will need before performing this spell." "And that will be?" Stormy asked impatiently "First you three will need to make some physical manifestation of your powers in the shape of a dagger or an arrow head to shoot at the seal once the spell is complete. Keep in mind that each of your magical items needs to be virtually unbreakable and sharp enough to easily pierce the barrier of the seal. Secondly, we need a place where it is full of pure magic but has corruption or darkness in the background." Eldus waited while the Trix thought of a place that he just described. "What about Earth!?" Darcy exclaimed "It is being filled with pure magic from the Tir Na Nog fairies, but there is still plenty of darkness and pollution left behind from past generations." "That sounds absolutely perfect my smart witch. Now that we have the location decided why don't you three start practicing while I go take a look around this Earth."

The Trix shrugged in agreement while they turned to each other and started to memorize their parts of the spell, after they opened up a portal to go to Earth for Eldus. 'Hmm... I wonder how long it will take them to memorize and get their sync to perfection. Well, I won't rush them if they are destroyed from not being prepared then I will be stuck as ghost forever.' Eldus stepped through the portal and landed in Gardenia.

* * *

Bloom and Daphne had just finished visiting their parents and were excited that their mom had woken up, now they were headed back to Sky's room. Once they reached his room they knocked on the door and walked in. They looked in and saw that both Sky and Thoren were sleeping soundly. Sky was tied up on his bed while Thoren was on the couch seeming to have been reading a book before falling asleep and drooling on the pages. The sisters looked at each other and took out their phones at the same time as they giggled at the scene in front of them. They each snuck up to their boyfriends and took a picture of them.

Unfortunately, Daphne forgot to take off the flash and Thoren began to wake up at the sudden bright light in his eyes. Daphne jumped back, but as she took another step back she didn't notice a chair that was behind her before falling over and letting out a yelp of surprise.

As soon as Bloom took the picture of Sky she heard her sister yelp and turned around. That's when she noticed her sister awkwardly on the ground with her legs in the air bent over the chair that she had just tripped over. "You better be taking a picture of Daphne on the ground, Bloom" The fairy of the dragon fire slowly turned around to see Sky eyeing her suspiciously. Bloom couldn't hold her laughter back anymore, her love's face was so serious while he completely tied to his bed. She took another picture before responding to her beloved "I'm sorry Sky, but you have to admit you look so funny right now, and this is an effective way of making sure that you stay in bed."

All this commotion woke up Thoren who bounced up off the couch and exclaimed "I will tape you to the bed this time if you escaped again, Sky!" This time everyone started to laugh uncontrollably when they saw Thoren's confused face. Once he fully woke up he saw Sky still tied up in bed, Bloom taking a picture of him and Daphne getting up off the ground and all three of them laughing. "When did you two get back?" Daphne walked up to him and gave him a kiss "Just now... and you two look looked so priceless we had to take a picture as a memory." Thoren blushed at the thought of his girl having an embarrassing picture of him. "Why you... Now you better delete that picture, you pretty little troublemaker." Thoren threatened with a smile and he started to reach out to grab Daphne by her waist. "I don't think so... I like this picture I think it will be your new contact picture..." Daphne teased with wink "Oo you are so gonna get it." Thoren then lifted Daphne into the air as he started to tickle her in hopes that she will drop her phone in her fits of laughter.

In the meantime, Bloom was still taking pictures of her sister and Thoren. "Awww don't you think that they make such a cute couple Sky?" "Don't think that I forgot you took a picture of me in this situation Bloom. You better delete those pictures..." Sky said as he pouted and tried to wiggle free. "But Sky you look so cute in them... see? don't you agree..." Bloom said as she showed Sky the first picture she took of him. He was still pouting hoping that he was 'cute' enough to make her release him and grab her phone "Fine you don't have to delete those picture... can you release me now?... Pleaseeee?" Sky said as he gave her his 'puppy eyes'. Bloom was always weak to his perfect blue puppy dog eyes "aww I can't resist that look…Ok I'll untie you... but first let's take a picture together as a memory!" exclaimed Bloom as she sat on the bed and leaned in closer to Sky while she held out her phone to take a selfie together.

As soon as the picture was taken there was a knock at the door and the Winx walked into the room just to pause at what they were seeing. Everyone froze in that moment taking in the scene that was before them. After a moment of shock the Winx slowly stepped back out of the room and slowly closed the door.

* * *

As soon as Stella closed the door she abruptly turned around "Please tell me I'm not crazy and that you girls just saw what I just saw." Stella asked her friends "You mean did we see Daphne being held, by her waist, upside down and being tickled by Thoren while Sky was tied up on his bed completely immobile while Bloom was taking a selfie with him?" Techna responded and the rest of the Winx nodded in agreement "Umm... I'm sure that there is a perfectly good explanation for this…umm… situation..." Flora said "Well I sure would like to hear it because now it seems that they have all lost their minds!" "Calm down Stella" "Musa's right. Let's all calm down and go ask them about this." Aisha stepped forward and knocked on the door again before slowly opening the door to enter with the Winx.

* * *

After the Winx had slowly left the room, everyone who was still in the room blushed over the embarrassment of what their friends just witnessed. Thoren was the first one to break the awkward silence "Well, this is going to be a fun one to explain." he said as he set Daphne down on her feet. "Well, let's get everything looking normal before they get back in and think we are losing our minds." Daphne said with a smile. Daphne went over and picked up the chair that she had tripped over, Thoren rearranged the pillows on the couch, and Bloom magically untied Sky and sat him up in his bed. Just then they heard another knock and saw the Winx slowly open the door and looked around the now seemingly normal room.

"Hello Winx welcome back." Daphne said as she greeted them.

"Ok, you guys need to explain what we just saw before we confirm that you all went crazy while we were gone." Stella demanded. Bloom stepped forward "Calm down Stella let me explain before you jump to your weird conclusions."

* * *

"Hmm... looks like Darcy was right about this place. I sense plenty of pure magic around, but there are still some areas that have darkness hiding within them." Eldus talked to himself as he was floating around Gardenia. After floating by the park and around the beach, Eldus was starting to wonder where the perfect place could be. "Well, the open Park and beach seem to have been completely cleansed of any darkness that was in them..." Eldus looked away from the beach and turned to the city. "Maybe I can find a good place within the human infested city. I can sense that there are some with negative intentions, there has to be a place they created just for me." he smirked as he started to fly towards the inner city.

After trying many different buildings that had 'potential' Eldus was about to give up and just settle with a place. That was until he reached the far end of the city. It was surrounded by many abandoned buildings and some construction sites. "It looks like they are trying to destroy this beautiful dangerously unstable building." Eldus landed in front of the entrance to the condemned building that was two stories high. He looked up and saw that the sign of the building said 'Garbage Disposal Plant' and walked inside. He looked around and saw a bunch of desks and tools thrown around everywhere. He closed his eyes and sensed around to see how much negative and pure magic was floating around this place.

He smiled and began to laugh wickedly "Yes, this place is perfect! There was a nice petty fight here, I can feel the anger from one group and the happiness of the opposing party. It is such good feeling of chaos that was left behind." Eldus open his eyes "Looks like I found the perfect spot for my reawakening..." he said as he laughed even louder.

* * *

The Winx were giggling as they looked through the pictures that Bloom and Daphne took of their boyfriends, while the boys were pouting from all the teasing that they were getting. "Wow Bloom I'm glad you explained the whole situation to us. We started to worry that you four had lost your minds and that we were all in trouble." "Gee thanks Stella" Bloom said as she rolled her eyes at her best friend. "Well, now that we got that whole awkward situation resolved shouldn't we get to the reason that we came here in such a hurry?" Aisha asked. "Your right Aisha. We need to talk about the new evil that has awakened and we need to prepare for the battle." Bloom said as she stood up and walked to stand besides Daphne.

Bloom nodded to Daphne for her to start telling the Winx the story. "A 3,000 year old ancient evil has awakened. One that was meant to be sealed away forever, but the Trix have managed to release him. He desires for all the pure and good magic in the magical dimension to fade away so he can become a dark King." "Well we should be able to defeat him. I mean we have managed to keep the peace from many bad guys, including the Trix, so this one shouldn't that much of a problem especially if he is as old as you say, right?" Stella said with total confidence. "Your right Stella..." Daphne responded "...you Winx have successfully kept the balance in the Magical Dimension from many evil tyrants, but this one will be very different. Each of your previous enemies had their own power source or used some outside magic to become more powerful, but this enemy not only has his own powerful source but he can absorb your magic by using your fears and pain. He is a master of curses and enjoys cursing those who are in love to gain even more power." Everyone was shocked at how evil this Eldus sounded "How was he sealed before?" Flora asked

"He was sealed by our ancestor Queen Jeanne..." Bloom told the Winx "Jeanne and Eldus were mortal enemies. Unfortunately, Jeanne did not survive the sealing of Eldus, she gave everything she had to protect the Magical Dimension and her family's future. She cared so much for the future she was even able to warn me of the dangers of Eldus and gave me a clue on how to defeat him." "What do you mean she warned you Bloom? She died over 3,000 years ago, right? It is highly improbable for her to return from the dead to tell the living anything." Tecna stated. "I had a vision of the past and got to talk to Jeanne in the moment when she died" Bloom told her friends "You said that she gave you a clue? What was the clue Bloom?" Musa asked

"She said that in order for me to defeat Eldus I need to find my Sacred Partner... I couldn't hear her very well in the end but what I did pick up was that she said: 'he is...'something'... with you. Your...'something'... guardian. His name...is 'something'.' I couldn't hear all the important stuff in the end." Bloom said frustrated "hmm... your Sacred Partner could mean your future husband." Tecna thought out loud. Bloom and Sky glanced at each other and blushed deep red before looking away.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "I wonder who that could be..." Daphne thought out loud as she went to open the door. "Meditrina? What are you doing here I thought you were with my parents." Meditrina gave Daphne a solemn expression as she bowed "I bring some news Princess Daphne..."


	10. Chapter 9: Defeat at First Battle

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Leonard, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 9  
****Defeat at first Battle **

"Meditrina? What are you doing here I thought you were with my parents." Meditrina gave Daphne a solemn expression as she bowed "I bring some news Princess Daphne..." the healer said as she raised her head to face her princess. "Your father has awakened and he refuses to stay still. I am worried that he will reopen his wounds. I was hoping that you could go talk to him and maybe convince him to listen to me." Daphne giggled at the thought of her father even thinking of listening to anyone besides her mother. "What about my mother couldn't she convince him to stay still?" "She is sleeping right now and I would prefer not to wake her." Daphne nodded "Ok let's go see if we can tell my father to stay still." Meditrina bowed again and said her thanks. They started to leave the room when they were interrupted by Sky.

"Excuse me, Meditrina?" "Yes, Prince Sky?" the healer said as she turned to face the prince. "Can I be freed from my strict bed rest now? It is the end of the day now" "Ok prince I will check your condition before I make my decision." The healer said as she went over to Sky's bed and started to check his vitals. After a moment Meditrina looked Sky in the eyes and smiled "Looks like you have recovered enough to not require bed rest, but you might still feel a bit sluggish so don't push yourself too much until you no longer feel any fatigue." Sky nodded in agreement as he slowly got up and stretched. Bloom went over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so glad you're ok Sky." Sky gave her a kiss back "Me too." He turned to look at Daphne and Meditrina "Do you think that I could go with you to visit the King?" "Yes, we would also like to visit his majesty." Flora said. Daphne looked at the healer and waited for her answer. "Yes, it should be fine for the King to have a short visit from family and friends." the healer said with a smile.

Everyone then started to head out of the room following Daphne and Meditrina, except for Sky and Thoren. Sky took a moment to change his clothes and dress properly in his royal garments before turning to Thoren. "Do you have my package that I asked you to get for me?" Thoren nodded as he pulled out a small package from his coat pocket and handed it over to Sky. "Here you go. Why did you want it so badly?" Sky smiled mischievously as he placed the package in the inner pocket of his jacket "you will see soon enough" Thoren smiled and shaked his head as he followed Sky out of the room and rushed to catch up to the Winx.

They all reached the King and Queen's chambers. Daphne stepped forward and knocked on the door. Shortly after she heard her father give his permission to enter. She open the door and saw her father still in bed. "Hello father. I am so glad that you are awake and feeling better." Daphne stepped aside and motioned to the Winx, Sky and Thoren who followed after her. "There are some guests that wanted to see you and wish you good health." Everyone came in and stood side by side as they bowed before the King and now awake Queen. "Welcome, everyone." Queen Marion said as she sat up in bed. "Yes, welcome all. And I am glad that you all came all this way to wish us the best in our recovery." The King said as he started to get up from bed.

Meditrina immediately stepped forward and attempted to stop him from standing. "Your majesty, Please stay in bed... you could reopen you wounds and have a bigger risk of infections..." "I can't stay in bed while I have to properly greet my guests who have come to visit us! I can't be rude." the healer was a loss for words "But your majesty..." The king smiled at the healer knowing that he had got his way "You worry too much Meditrina... if I feel up to standing then I'm pretty sure I am well enough to stand." King Oritel laughed good-naturedly while being a little wobbly on his feet. But his laughter was soon cut off when he heard his Queen clear her throat. He slowly turned to face her and saw that she was giving him her 'serious' face. "Oritel stop acting out and get back into bed until you are told otherwise." "But Marion, my beautiful wife, I don't want to lay in bed all day when there is a great evil on the loose and a kingdom to rule." Queen Marion crossed her arms and started to glare at her King. "Oritel..." the King gulped but reluctantly got back to bed and started to pout because he didn't get to do what he wanted.

Everyone started laughing softly at the scene that had taken place and the healer was just happy that the King was finally settling down and staying in bed. Bloom and Daphne walked up to their parents and gave them each a hug. They were so relieved that they would make a full recovery. Bloom looked up after giving her father a hug "I was so worried about you, Dad." "It's ok Bloom I'm fine... though honestly I was a bit more worried about Sky..." Sky stepped forward and bowed to the king and Queen before saying "I do apologize for my failure in the battle against the Trix. I won't be taken off guard so easily the next time." "Don't worry too much, my dear. No one expected them to interrupt our nice lunch" Queen Marion said to Sky with a warm smile.

"That reminds me Sky..." Bloom started to ask as she walked up to Sky. "...Why were you here visiting my parents anyway? You didn't tell me you were going to be in Domino, I would have come with you." Sky scratch the back of his head as he slightly blushed. "Well, Bloom I sort of didn't want you to be here while I was visiting your parents..." Bloom looked slightly hurt and confused. "Why not?" "Well, I wanted to talk to them about us... and our relationship..." Bloom was still confused. "What about our relationship?"

Sky took a step back away from Bloom, but held onto her left hand. "Bloom, We have gone through many battles together, whether it was a battle to keep the magical dimension safe or a challenge of the heart, but they each have made our love stronger. You may be one of the strongest fairy in the known universe, but I love you for you. I don't care that you grew up on earth, that you are a Princess of Domino, that you are the guardian fairy of the Great Dragon Flame, or have a hyper blue rabbit as a pet, I love the person you are, the pure heart that you have. Just as I know how you don't just love me for being the crown prince of Eraklyon, but for who I am, the person under all this royal facade and garments. I know that there is a big battle coming and all, but when I was dying the only thing that I could think of was: 'I'm never going to see my beautiful Bloom again' and 'I never asked her my question...I wonder what she would have said...'" Bloom was still confused as to why Sky was saying all this now "Sky, I love you too, but I don't understand what you are trying to say..."

"What I am trying to say, Bloom... is that the reason I came to see your parents is because I want our relationship to change..." Sky blushed some more and scratched the back of his head before kneeling down on one knee and pulling out the small box that Thoren had given him earlier. "I wanted their permission and blessing for your hand in marriage... What do you say Bloom? Will you do me biggest honor of marrying me and making me the happiest man in existence?"

* * *

Eldus was very pleased in how he managed to fix the building to his liking. He had cleared out all the desks and tools that were littering the ground on both first and second floors. "Now for the finishing touch..." Eldus concentrated and then there was a slight explosion. Once all the dust had settled a perfect large hole was cut through the ceiling on the first floor and through the roof on the second floor. "Perfect, now I should go check on my little witches."

The sorcerer opened a portal to Darkar's castle and stepped through. As soon as he was through he looked around and saw that the Trix were still in the same spot the he had left them. The only difference now was that above each of them hovered a stone that held the element that they each controlled. Eldus walked over to the witches who were deep in concentration in their practice. "Well hello my talented witches. How is the practice going?" The Trix looked at Eldus with an evil grin. "We finished Practicing Eldus." Icy said "We have already memorized and perfected the timing of the spell" added Darcy "And we have already created the stones that are needed to pierce your artifact." Finished Stormy while motioning to the stones above them.

The great sorcerer was taken aback at what he just heard 'There's no way they managed to prepare so quickly...' "Oo that's so great my intelligent Trix. May I see a demonstration?" The Trix nodded and proceeded to show him their perfect timing without need of the parchments that he gave them earlier, they even went through the timing of piercing their stones into a soft pillow at the same time. Eldus was very impressed 'Imagine if there were more evil covens in the universe, the scales would have completely tipped to evil by now.' "Impressive ladies... I didn't think that it would take you that short a time to get it perfect." "Well, we have done our part, have you done yours?" Icy asked

"Why yes I have. I found a nice abandoned Garbage Plant on the outskirts of Gardenia that is perfect for our little plan. And I have fixed it up so it is ready for use. Would you like to have a look?" Eldus opened the portal to Gardenia and stepped aside for the Trix "Witches first..." he said as he motioned to the portal. The Trix stepped through and soon they were in the abandoned plant. The Trix looked around and saw a damp, molding old building, with cleared floors, and a huge hole in the ceiling that allowed a nice view of the night sky. "Nice place you found here Eldus. Looks like you weren't floating around doing nothing after all." remarked Stormy. "Your praise, flatters me Stormy thank you." Eldus said with a genuine looking smile.

"So when can we start with releasing your second seal, Eldus?" Icy asked impatiently "Well, my dear Icy we will need to wait for Dawn, in order to proceed." "Why can't we do it now?" asked Darcy "Because the seals were used using the foundation of the Ying-Yang magic. You were luckily able to release the first seal because of the eclipse. It is a natural event that happens to show the powers of Ying, the only tricky part of it was that it only happens every 50 years. The Yang power is a bit different, unlike the Ying power, Yang's natural event happens every morning at dawn." "Why dawn?" Stormy asked "Because dawn is both night and day. It is the moment before the great sun raises to bring light to the world. Just like the symbol demonstrates, it overpowers the darkness with its light while still accepting its existence within itself."

"Alright then, so all we need to do now is to relax and rest until dawn." Icy commented "It's not much longer before you are free, Eldus, and when we get our much deserved reward." Darcy noted "Yes, you girls just focus on the spell and the seal, and I will take care of any unwanted interruptions that might appear." he said with an evil smirk

* * *

Bloom looked down and couldn't believe her eyes. Before her the love of her life was kneeling on one and he was holding a small black box with the most beautiful engagement ring that she has ever seen, including Stella's, 'No offense Stella'. No this ring was way better... because it was just for her. It had a large blue heart shaped diamond in the middle, it had one marquise shaped clear diamond on each side of the blue diamond, and on a simple white gold band. It was beautiful. Bloom was so shocked that she couldn't manage to say anything, just stare in amazement and excitement at Sky and the ring in front of her.

After a moment of waiting for a response Sky was starting to get nervous. "Umm... Bloom, my love... can I have an answer please?" That woke Bloom up. She started nodding her head while smiling brightly. "YES! Sky, Yes!" She exclaimed as jumped on top of him to give him a hug and a kiss. Everyone in the room started to cheer and congratulate Bloom and Sky. Sky got up off the ground with Bloom and smiled hugely, he gently picked up the ring from the box and gently slipped it on Bloom's left ring finger. Bloom took a moment to take a close look at her engagement ring and decided to give Sky another loving kiss.

"OO Bloom we are so HAPPY for you!" Stella said as she bounced over to her best friend and gave her a big hug. "Yes, this is a moment of to celebrate do you agree?" Tecna commented. "Yea, let's go have a little party while we grab dinner." Musa said. Daphne stepped forward "Follow me girls we have great Dinner set up in the dining room." The Winx said their goodbyes to the King and Queen, and excitedly followed Daphne out of the room. Bloom and Sky were the last ones to leave the room, they walked over to her parent's bed and Bloom gave them a huge hug to each of them. "Congratulations, darling. I am so happy for you." Queen Marion said to her daughter. "Yes, Bloom I know that you will be very happy alongside Sky... and I know that Prince Sky will take very good care of you, right?!" King Ortiel said as he eyed Sky "Of course your majesties, I promise you that I will take very good care of Bloom. I will love her more and more each and every day, and protect her with my life." Bloom's parents nodded their approval and the couple left the room to follow their friends. "Oo Oritel our little girl is growing up so fast, I'm so proud of her." Queen Marion said with tears in her eyes. "I'm proud of her too my love... I just hope that Eldus does not do anything that will jeopardize their happiness."

* * *

When Bloom and Sky entered the dining room they saw that the Winx were already starting to eat their dinner with their boyfriends. "Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Sky asked as soon as he saw his friends. "We got a call from the girls saying that you finally proposed and we came immediately, with the help of Stella's magic of course. You know we couldn't miss a party!" Brandon said. "Thanks for coming guys and celebrating this special moment with me and Bloom." Sky said as they went to go sit at the head of the table and started eating their food and enjoying the amazing company.

Once they finished eating the main course they waited for the dessert to be served. As soon as the maids opened the doors to bring in the large cake, the Winx magically decorated the room to appear ready for a huge congratulatory party. "Wow guys this all looks great!" Bloom said with a big smile.

"Well, now that I had some yummy food it's time to party all night long!" Stella exclaimed as she stood up towards the large cake. Everyone giggled at their blonde friend as they too got up and walked to the cake. Sky took Bloom's hand and went over to the Winx and the Specialists, together they cut and passed around the cake. Once they finished eating the cake and taking lots of pictures Aisha turned to the Fairy of Music "Hey, Musa lets crank up the music!" "Alright!" Musa magically made her DJ equipment appear and started playing her mix.

Everyone started to dance with their loved ones and have a good time. "Oo Sky this has just been a perfect night. I wish it wouldn't end." Sky looked at his fiancé with a loving smile "Me too Bloom, me too."

* * *

As soon as it became a couple hours to dawn, Eldus got up and walked over to the Trix who were talking amongst themselves in the other side of the room. "Are you three ready to get started?" "It's about time." Stormy said as she jumped up and stretched her arms above her head. "Good, I love your enthusiasm. For the next hour you witches will start to meditate on your powers and start filling up your stones with dark raw power." Icy bent down and picked up the cloth that was holding Eldus' relic "Alright, let's get started sisters." Stormy and Darcy nodded and all three flew over to the middle of the room under the hole in the ceiling. Icy unwrapped the relic without directly touching she centered it in the middle. Once it was centered the Trix each took three steps back while levitating their stones in front of them, and started to focus their powers and meditate.

After a while of focusing their powers into their stones they started to glow stronger and stronger. Eldus watched with an evil grin from a short distance and was getting more and more excited as he felt the Trix's power grow. 'I only have to wait a little while more, before I will finally be free to curse those who were responsible for my suffering and become king of this pathetic universe.'

* * *

Most of the Winx and Specialists had fallen asleep on the elegant and soft couches in the room or were just resting with their loved one. Bloom was leaning on Sky's shoulder while they were sitting on the couch. "I love you Sky." Bloom said sleepily "I love you too Bloom." Bloom smiled. "We are going to live happily ever after together, right?" She asked her fiancé as she looked at her ring again "Yes, forever together my beautiful Bloom." Sky responded as he entwined his hand with her left hand and kissed her on her head.

Suddenly Bloom felt a sudden chill go down her spine and she started to feel cold. She wrapped her arms around herself in attempts to warm herself up. "Bloom what's wrong?" Sky asked as he turned her around to face him when he felt her shaking. "I don't know... I have a feeling that something really bad is going to happen soon. This is such a cold and empty feeling... Sky, I am sensing a lot of evil power being focused... I think the Trix are getting ready to free Eldus' body from the second seal..." the commotion alerted everyone else and they were shocked to hear what Bloom just said "How do you know Bloom?" Riven asked. "I don't know... it's just this feeling I have..." She abruptly looked at Sky with a serious expression "We need to get to Earth immediately... They're in Gardenia!"

With that everyone, including Bloom and Sky, stood up knowing that their rest was now over. Bloom turned to face her friends "Winx Transform!" the girls nodded and gathered together before exclaiming "Winx Bloomix!"

As soon as they all transformed Bloom flew over to Daphne. "I'm sorry Bloom I can't go with you. I need to stay here and watch over things while Mom and Dad are recovering..." "It's ok Daphne I understand." Bloom said with a supportive smile to her sister. "Please, Bloom be careful. Eldus is very dangerous...he cannot get his body. If he does, he will be able to curse anyone he wishes." "Don't worry I will be careful."

With that Bloom turned to the Winx "Ready girls?" "Ready!" they exclaimed together. Bloom then opened up a portal to Gardenia and stepped through followed by the Winx then the Specialists. As soon as Sky was about to step through he was stopped "Sky, wait!" "What's wrong Daphne?" "You need to be especially careful Sky. Eldus will find out that Bloom is a descendent of Queen Jeanne and he will target her." "I will protect her, I promise." "I'm more worried about you Sky... he will try to curse you in order to really hurt Bloom..." it took him just a second to understand what Daphne was trying to say. Sky nodded and stepped through the portal.

* * *

"Now girls start the spell, Dawn is soon approaching." Eldus told the Trix when he started to see some color in the sky. The Trix nodded and started to summon their Whisperian Crystals to give them an extra boost. As soon as they did Eldus sensed something and looked out the window to see the Winx flying closer to the building followed by the Specialists. "You girls continue I will take care of some unwanted guests."

The Trix nodded and Icy started to slowly say the spell. Eldus walked outside and closed the door behind him "Well, well, well... look who has come to ruin my party." Eldus was shocked to see Bloom 'No, it can't be. She died a long time ago!' "We have come to stop you Eldus! We won't let you gain your body back." Bloom told the evil sorcerer. Eldus grinned 'She must be a direct descendent of Jeanne... how interesting their resemblance is uncanny' "I think you are too late to stop me, descendent of Jeanne." Bloom was slightly shocked to realize that Eldus knew who she was already. All of a sudden there was a burst of power that threw the building's front door wide open and a column of dark power shot straight up and out of the building.

The Winx saw the Trix inside the building focusing on a spell with the Whisperian Crystals above them and their power stones floating in front of them. "No!" Bloom exclaimed to see how close they were in breaking the second seal "We need to stop them... Winx!" The Winx flew next to Bloom and got ready to do a convergence. "WINX CONVERGENCE!" They exclaimed together "I don't think so!" Eldus sent a barrier up and easily blocked the attack. Sky took Eldus' distraction to make a direct attack. "Sky, be careful!" Bloom exclaimed. Eldus turned in time to see the Crown Prince charging at him and swing his sword. Since Eldus was busy with the barrier he couldn't block Sky's attack. That's when everyone saw Sky pass right through Eldus with ease.

"What just happened?" Sky asked as he turned around to face Eldus again. "It won't work if you physically attack a ghost, boy." Eldus looked to the Winx again and saw Bloom's worried expression. "Hmm... interesting... you are her true love aren't you?... How perfect!" Eldus said with an evil glare at Sky. "Get away from him!" Bloom said as she sent multiple attacks towards Eldus. She managed to make a direct hit and sent Eldus flying back into the building a couple feet away from the Trix.

"Not bad Guardian Princess of Domino, if you faced me earlier you would have been able to seal me away again..." Eldus looked up the brightening sky and grinned when he heard Stormy start to recite the last line of the spell. "but you were too late to prevent me from releasing my body... now without your sacred partner you cannot even think to defeat me." Bloom realized what he just said "Winx attack him now!" Each Winx sent a powerful attack aimed at Eldus, but before it made contact they heard the Trix exclaim "SEAL RELEASE!" and heard stones hit hard rock.

There was a sudden explosion at the same time that the Winx's attack directly hit Eldus. The Winx were all on the defensive waiting for anything to come out of the dust. Once the dust settled the Winx were able to see a tall dark figure standing in the middle of the destroyed room. Suddenly it raised his hand and threw a huge blast at the Winx and the Specialists. "Dancing Flames!" Bloom said as she put up a huge barrier around the Specialist. "Protection of Waves!" Aisha exclaimed as she put up a barrier to protect the Winx.

Unfortunately, the blasts were too strong to hold the barriers up for very long, both blasts sent everyone back a few feet. And it knocked out Bloom and Aisha, but everyone else were relatively unharmed just a little shell shocked and very dazed.

"Did you honestly think that you could stop me? An army couldn't stop me! What makes you think that a bunch of fairies and their lovers have a chance to do me damage?" Eldus asked as he slowly walked closer and closer to Bloom and Sky. "Now be prepared to watch your beloved suffer great pain... then you will know the pain I suffered through...long ago…" Eldus started to conjure up a dark and sinister orb in his left hand as he stopped before Sky. "You will never win Eldus" Sky said as he tried to stand up. "As long as I break Jeanne that's all that matters." Eldus said with a serious face 'Jeanne? But she's gone...Does he mean Bloom?' Sky wondered. "I wonder why this feels like De Ja Vu?" Eldus said with a knowing grin "Oo that's right I did the same thing 3,000 years ago." he said with an evil laugh. "Enjoy your painful death, powerless Prince!" Eldus then started to throw the dark orb at Sky.

* * *

Bloom woke up hearing Eldus talking to Sky. "What? Sky!?" She abruptly got up and looked around to see Eldus raise his left hand and tell her love "Enjoy your painful death, powerless Prince" then started to throw the dark orb at Sky. "NO!" Bloom screamed as she flew as fast as she could the few feet to Sky. 'No, not Sky. I can't lose him again... I just can't. I rather take his place just to save him...'

Just before the Black orb hit Sky, Bloom pushed him out of the way and took the direct hit instead. The orb's force sent Bloom flying back a couple feet, once on the floor the Orb started to be absorbed into Bloom's body until it disappeared and covered Bloom in a dark light. "Bloom! No!" Sky exclaimed as he ran over to his fiancé.

A flash of sadness shown in Eldus' eyes, but since it was so fast it was missed by everyone. Eldus then started to laughed at the unexpected turn of events. "Well, I was really hoping that the Prince would feel the pain you all deserve, but this works just as well. Say good bye to your true love while you can." Eldus laughed as he walked towards the Trix who finally woke up. "Let's go girls. you need to rest before you get your reward." The Trix smiled and followed Eldus through a dark portal.

"Bloom? Bloom!... Please, say something..." Sky said as he held Bloom in his arms. Bloom opened her eyes slightly and gave a small smile when she saw Sky and reached up to cup his face. "Sky you're not hurt are you?" Sky shook his head no, and gave her a small smile while reaching up to his cheek and putting his hand over her's. "No, thanks to you." "You're not hurt... thank goodness..." Bloom started to close her eyes again "Sky... I'm sorry... I love you..." her hand fell from Sky's cheek as she heard Sky yell: "No, Bloom please stay awake... Bloom?!"


	11. Chapter 10: Is there a Cure?

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Leonard, Mia, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_ Well, I think this might be the longest Chapter I am going to write! PHW! I wanted to write more but I decided that I kept you guys waiting for the next chapter long enough! _

_Since I am already about half way done with the chapter 11 it should be able to post it really soon! :-D _

_And Thank you sooo much for any comment left behind, they really inspire me to write faster lol_

_ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 10  
****Is there a Cure?**

"Sky... I'm sorry... I love you..." Bloom's hand fell from Sky's cheek as she heard Sky yell: "No! Bloom, please stay awake... Bloom?!" 'What do I do? I don't know how to help her... she has never felt this cold before... who can help her?... I know... Daphne will know what to do... she always knows what to do... I need to get back to Domino...' Sky carefully picked up Bloom, princess style and looked around. He saw that the Specialists and Winx were coming to their senses and starting to get up. "Arg... what hit us?" Riven protested "Yea..." Stella said as she rubbed her head "I feel like I've been hit by a bus."

Sky walked over to Stella "Stella, please, I need to get back to Domino immediately." Stella started to look up confused "What's the hur-?... Oh my gosh Bloom! What Happened?!" Sky held on to his love a little tighter realizing what he was about to say "Eldus cursed her... please I need to get to Daphne she must have an idea on what to do to save her... can you get us to Domino?" Everyone had finally realized how hurt their leader was and got closer to prepare to travel to Domino. Stella seemed especially affected 'I've never seen Bloom look so hurt...' "I... I don't know if... I have enough power to transport all of us on my own" "You're not alone Stella." Aisha said as she placed a hand to comfort her blonde friend. "Aisha is right you have us." Flora added "With our remaining powers combined we should be able to transport everyone easy enough." Tecna said as she calculated some numbers on her device. Stella showed a smile and nodded in agreement.

The rest of the Winx gathered together and held each other's hands "Winx Convergence." Stella held out her free left hand "To Domino castle"

* * *

"Something is wrong." Daphne said as she paced back and forth the great room glancing at her glowing bracelet. "I'm sure they are fine Daphne they'll be back soon, but you need to rest." Thoren told his wife as he went over to her and grabbed a hold of her hands to stop her pacing. "How do you know Thoren? I know something is wrong… this bracelet connects us and tells us if the others are in danger… look Bloom's light is getting weaker …Bloom is in great danger…" Suddenly a portal opened in the middle of the room. Thoren stepped in front of Daphne and took out his weapon to protect her from whatever was coming through the portal.

"Looks like we made it just fine." Musa said as she was the first one to step through the portal followed by Riven, Timmy, then Tecna "Of course, my calculations are always correct" the fairy of Technology said with a smug smile as she was followed by the Aisha, Roy, Flora and Helia. Daphne relaxed to see her friends and walked around Thoren to greet them "I'm glad you all are alright but what happened with Eldus?" They all got a worried expression when Daphne mentioned Eldus "The thing is… the Trix managed to free Eldus' body… now he has all of his powers back…" Roy said as he held Aisha's hand. Daphne was shocked to hear this and turned to hold onto Thoren as support "No… It can't be… wait… where's Bloom? Is she ok?" Every looked down in sadness at the thought of their leader's condition then looked to the portal to see Stella step through while holding hands with Brandon while tears were falling down her face, they were followed soon after by Sky carrying an unconscious and paling Bloom.

Daphne couldn't believe her eyes. "No… Not Bloom… I hoped the bracelet was wrong… Without her then hope really is lost." Daphne started to tear until she felt Thoren wrap his arms around her. "Shhh… its ok Daphne… there is always hope… let's have Meditrina have a look at her, she might have a spell to cure her." Daphne looked up and saw the confidence in her boyfriend's eyes and knew he was right. She nodded and asked a guard to summon the Domino healer immediately.

* * *

"Meditrina shouldn't you be resting? All you have been doing for the last couple of days were look after the royal family day and night." King Oritel told the healer. "I have sufficient rest your majesty, besides I take pride in my job to look after the health of the royal family." The healer said with a big smile and a small bow to her king. "We are so lucky to have such a skilled and determined healer in our ranks. Don't you agree Oritel?" "I do indeed" "Oh your majesties flatter me so. It's an honor." Meditrina said with a slight blush and a bow.

Suddenly there was an unexpected knock at the door. Meditrina went to open the door and a saw a guard panting. "Are you alright, young man?" The healer asked the short of breath guard. "Yes, Thank you... I ran here as fast as I could... there is an emergency... I was told to tell you... Meditrina... to come to the... Great Room immediately... by orders of the ... crown Princess, Daphne..." The guard said in between breaths. The healer, the king and Queen were both shocked to hear that Daphne would need Meditrina in such a manner. "What happened?" Queen Marion asked. "Princess Bloom has been cursed by Eldus..."

Everyone in the room was speechless when they heard what the guard had just said. After a moment the guard spoke up again, "I know that this is a shock, but the Princess needs your skills Madam Meditirna." This woke everyone from their trance "Yes, your right. Take me to her." "Yes, Madam." the guard turned to proceed down the hall when the Queen stopped them. "Wait, I'm coming as well." "Very well, but do not over exert yourself, your majesty." "If you are going then I am going too." King Oritel said as he started to get up.

"No you will not!" Both the Queen and the healer said at the same time. "But it's not fair that you get to go Marion, I want to see our daughter as well." The healer was so worried for Princess Bloom that she snapped at her King. "If you get up and open your wounds then I will not be able to focus on healing your daughter. I will have to focus on making sure that you do not get an infection from your torn stitches." King Ortiel was shocked that the healer slightly lost her temper at him, but he knew she was right he would never forgive himself if Meditrina didn't give her full focus on saving his daughter only because of his selfishness. "Fine, I will stay put..." "Thank you my love, but just to make sure… you will need a babysitter." Queen Marion said with a smile "I am King anyone you leave to watch me is bound to take only my orders." the King said smugly "Yes you right, but there is one who will listen to me... Kiko!" "What?! Bloom's rabbit? What can he do? It won't be hard to get him to listen to me anyway." "OO I think you are wrong, my dear, he favors me more don't you Kiko?" Kiko nodded his head in agreement. "Good, if Oritel does anything that he is not supposed to then call me on this phone." she placed a phone on the table at the foot of the bed "And I will have the head chef start baking your favorite carrot cake with a carrot smoothie." The Queen said as she winked at the drooling rabbit. The king crossed his arms in defeat knowing that he can't beat that deal. The Queen left with a very satisfied smile as she and Meditrina rushed out of the room to the Great Room.

* * *

Daphne had magically made a bed appear in the left side of the Great Room. "Here lay Bloom down here." Daphne told Sky who was still carrying Bloom. He walked over to the bed and very carefully placed Bloom on the bed. He then pulled up a seat next to Bloom and held onto her hand while they waited for Meditrina to arrive. Daphne gave a concerned look at Bloom and Sky before turning to the Winx. "Why don't you guys relax for a bit? I can arrange rooms for you guys so you can rest properly." "No, we want to wait to see what Meditrina has to say about Bloom's condition." Stella said. The Winx and Specialists nodded their agreement "Well, ok but at least sit down. You all look exhausted." The Winx went over to the couches and sat down next to their boyfriends and relaxed for a moment.

Daphne walked over to Thoren who was standing a few feet away from Sky in case he needed something. "Oo Thoren, I am so worried for Bloom." "Don't worry Daphne Meditrina will be here soon." The crown Princess nodded as they waited a few minutes for the healer to arrive.

* * *

Meditrina rushed inside the Great Room without even knocking. "Princess Daphne! I came as fast as I could, where is Princess Bloom?" "Thank you for coming so fast Meditirna. She is over here." Daphne motioned behind her to Bloom on the bed and Sky now standing next to the bed to give room to the healer. "What happened?" Everyone turned to see Queen Marion walk into the room and rush over to her youngest daughter, but careful not to bother the healer looking over her.

Everyone in the room was silent, scared to say it out loud in fear that it will become a true reality. Suddenly Sky blurted out "It was all my fault! It was supposed to be me... Eldus wanted to curse me... but Bloom... she pushed me out of the way... she got cursed instead of me... I'm so sorry... I couldn't protect Bloom... I'm sorry I was so weak..." Sky started to tremble in his efforts to not cry and completely lose his cool in front of everyone.

"No, my dear, this unfortunate incident is not your fault. You were not weak; you still being by Bloom's side proves how strong you and your love is. Do not blame yourself for the faults that happen in the heat of battle." Queen Marion said as she walked over to Sky and gave him a supportive hug. "But I failed... Bloom was cursed... she might not make it..." "Sky you couldn't have stopped what happened to Bloom. Once Eldus' body was released he was going to curse you or Bloom sooner or later. It was inevitable." Daphne sadly said. "But why Bloom? What does he have against her? It's not like they have ever met before. Today was the first time meeting." Sky asked. "It's because of our ancestor Queen Jeanne. Eldus has always wanted revenge on her and since Bloom is a direct descendent it is only natural that he focuses on someone that is part of Jeanne's precious family... and probably also because Bloom looks almost exactly like how Queen Jeanne looked..." Daphne took out the book that she had given Bloom earlier and turned to the page where it had a portrait of Queen Jeanne and showed it to everyone.

"Oh my gosh. Bloom does look almost exactly like Queen Jeanne." Flora commented when she saw the picture. "Yea the only real difference between them is their hair color. Queen Jeanne's is darker than Bloom's." Musa added. "Yes, and could be because of their similarities that Eldus will really find joy in seeing Bloom suffer the greatest pain he can provide." Daphne sadly said.

* * *

"Oh it does feel so good to have my flesh and blood back. It is true what they say 'you don't know what you have until it is gone'." Eldus said with a big smile as he stretched his long arms above his head as soon as they arrived back to Darkar's castle. "And I owe it all to you, my very talented witches." He turned to the Trix a slightly bowed in thanks. "Having a body suits you Eldus." Icy commented "Yea, yea we are so happy that you can touch things again, but how about our reward for all our hard work?" Stormy said sarcastically. "We will get to that soon enough ladies, but first let's have a little fun shall we?"

"You promised us power! You better not be going back on your word." Stormy snapped "Don't worry my pretty Stormy I will give you what I promised, but that will take time and a lot of concentration. Instead of getting all serious right after all the work you three did, why not take a small break and enjoy a good show." He said with an evil smirk as he started to conjure up a large crystal ball. "What kind of show?" asked Darcy. "The slow and painful death of Bloom Show."

The Trix watched in awe when they looked into the crystal ball that Eldus levitated in front of them. They saw Bloom lying motionless on a bed still in her Bloomix form with a light dark aura surrounding her, and Sky sitting next to her, holding her hand with saddened and worried eyes. Excited smiles grew on the faces of the three witches seeing their enemy so defenseless. "What did you do to her Eldus?" Icy asked with excited curiosity. "Oo I just placed my favorite curse on her, I named it the Keres Curse*. She will suffer greatly before her inevitable death. The great thing about this curse is that it is linked to Bloom's magic, so it feeds and feeds on the magic in the body until it is completely depleted then it just fades away. If the cursed does not die from the complete loss of magic then the curse will poison the blood until the heart stops."

"Such a fitting death for our favorite fairy, don't you agree sisters." Darcy and Stormy gleefully nodded their agreement. "How long will it take for her to die?" Darcy asked "Well it depends on the amount of power one has, but the maximum anyone has lasted was about 30 hours." "Ok let's get our reward after we watch this awesome show!" Stormy exclaimed excitedly "Yes, let's sit back and enjoy the entertainment ladies." Eldus said as he magically made a black comfy couch appear. "I'll go get some popcorn!" Stormy said as she flew out of the room. 'I wonder what popcorn is. I hope its food.' Eldus thought as he turned his attention back to his crystal ball.

* * *

"What can we do Daphne? How can we save Bloom?" Sky asked softly after Meditrina said that it was beyond her knowledge to save Bloom. "I'm not really sure Sky, but I will find out." Daphne said with a very determined look in her eyes "How do you plan to find out Daphne?" Thoren asked as he put a hand on his wife's shoulder "I'm going to do some research in the royal archives. There should be some notes or something that Jeanne left behind. Maybe I will find a clue there, if I am lucky I will find her journal." "I'll help you look. Two heads are better than one after all." "Thanks Thoren I appreciate that." Daphne said with a grateful smile and they started to head out of the room. "We will help too!" The Winx and the Specialists got up to follow them "No, you guys need to go rest. I have a feeling that in order to save Bloom everyone will need to be at their strongest. Besides I have a feeling that most of you will fall asleep as soon as you open a book." the crown princess said with a soft smile.

"Daphne is right I will have the room prepared for each of you so you all may have a good rest. You will be alerted once we find anything, alright?" Queen Marion told them. The Winx and Specialists nodded in reluctant agreement. "Go on, my dear..." the Queen told her eldest daughter "...I will take care of everything here, don't worry." Thanks mom." Thoren and Daphne both slightly bowed and left the room

* * *

"Wow. I didn't expect the royal archives were so deep in the basement or that there was such high security to get in." "Well, Domino's most secret history is hidden away here. This place also holds some ancient spells that could be used for good or bad." Daphne led them to the far back of the archives to the oldest looking shelves covered in cobwebs and dust "Well, hopefully we will find our answers here." "We need to go through all these books? There must be over 500 books and scrolls here." Wined Thoren after taking a look of the job he volunteered to do. Daphne giggled "You don't have to stay and help me Thoren. You can go back and see how everyone else is doing. I'm sure they are giving mom problems." Thoren shook his head "Nope, I'm with you Daphne." The crown princess smiled sweetly at her beloved husband. "Alright well let's get to work, but first let's see if I can do something about the lighting and the dust." Daphne lit all the candles that were in the back and had some flames floating on their own as well. She then magically cleaned up the shelves so they were no longer dusty or covered in cobwebs, but they still looked very old. "Wow great job Daphne, now I'm not scared that a man-eating spider will come out of every book I touch." Thoren joked as he pulled out the first book on the top shelf.

* * *

"How is she doing, Meditrina?" Sky asked while still holding onto Bloom's hand. Everyone else had listened to the Queen's orders and went to their rooms to properly rest. The only ones left with Bloom were Queen Marion, Meditrina and Sky. "Not so well, young Prince. Her pulse is erratic, she is starting to get a fever, and she seems to be in constant pain. Unfortunately, the curse is taking its toll." "Why do you think she is still in her fairy form? Usually, one would revert back when they are unconscious for this long." Queen Marion asked "I'm not sure my Queen, I'm sorry I am not very familiar with curses." "It's not your fault Meditrina. No one has really dealt with a real curse in such a long time, but what can we do?" Queen Marion asked the healer "All we can do is make her comfortable and hope Princess Daphne will find something soon."

* * *

"This is so much fun to watch!" Stormy said as she ate her popcorn "It's funny to watch Bloom writhe in pain while her beloved Sky watches." Darcy added while snickering "Not to mention that they are just waiting around for Daphne to find a non-existent cure." Icy giggled.

Eldus looked at the clock, that he just learned how to use. "Well, ladies it seems that we have just made it to the twelve hour mark and I already sense that Bloom is halfway gone. If she is lucky, she might be able to see her last sunrise." The witches and the sorcerer laughed in joy at Bloom's suffering.

* * *

"Daphne, dear, are you here?" the Queen called out as she looked for her daughter "Yes, Mom, I'm over here" "How are you and Thoren doing? Any luck?" Daphne sadly shook her head "No, we haven't found anything that could help Bloom, yet. And Thoren fell asleep about an hour ago" Queen Marion looked over to the sleeping Thoren on the couch surrounded by books and scrolls, and smiled at his efforts "its ok I know you will soon. But in the meantime why don't you two come have dinner with everyone?" "It's already so late?" Daphne said as she rubbed her face realizing that the day had flown by so quickly. "How's Bloom doing?" the Queen looked down sadly "Not very well... she's getting worse by the hour..." "Then I can't stop now, we have almost finished looking through all the books..." "Yes, that's very good but you need a break." the Queen said sternly. Daphne looked up at her mother and saw that she could not argue. "Ok Mom... but can I go through just one more?" "Sure just one more, but quickly the food is probably starting to get cold." Daphne nodded as she magically levitated the next book on the self and opened it towards the middle then started to skim before turning to the first page. But she stopped to properly read after she skimmed a couple of lines:

07/19 09:16 AM

Eldus placed the extremely powerful Keres curse on my captain, Mia. It's not like any of the curses he has used before, I have only seen this once before and the outcome was not a happy one. I was hoping that I would be able to break it this time but to no avail… yet.

The first person who had Eldus' Keres Curse was a top notch solider. He had the following symptoms:

\- He was unconscious the moment he was cursed  
\- High fever, but cold to the touch  
\- Inconsistent pulse (slowed down then would speed up randomly)  
\- Cold sweats  
\- writhing in pain  
\- surrounded by a faded dark aura  
\- he passed after 29 hours of being cursed

The only difference is that Mia has retained her fairy form, which is odd. It has been over 14 hours and she hasn't reverted back. The way a normal curse works is that an object on the person (one that is usually hard to remove) is cursed and while connected to the person, it will continue to curse the person to death. If you destroy the connection between the curse and the cursed person in time they can be saved. After careful examination we found that those who have the Keres Curse, have their magic cursed.

How can I save Mia if magical beings cannot survive if their magic is completely depleted?

"Daphne, dear?" Queen Marion placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder to try to get her attention. Daphne blinked and looked up to see her mother's concerned face. "Mom I think I just found what we have been looking for!" she said with a smile. "Really? That's great let's go to the dining room so you can tell everyone the good news." The Queen said excitedly. Daphne nodded and walked over to wake up Thoren and they all walked towards the dining room, while Daphne continued to read the journal.

* * *

The Winx and the Specialists were sitting around the dining room table waiting for Daphne and Thoren to arrive. "I hope that Daphne found something that can help Bloom. I don't know how much longer she can take." Stella said teary eyed. "I'm sure she has found something Stella." Flora said trying to comfort her blonde friend.

They then heard the dining room door open and saw Daphne (still focused on the journal), Thoren, and the Queen walk into the room. Everyone in the room stood up both out of respect for royalty and curiosity in what Daphne was so focused on reading.

Daphne finally looked up from the journal and saw that everyone was staring expectantly at her. "Hey guys, good news I think I found a way to save Bloom." Daphne began reading a passage out loud from the journal.

07/19 3:33 PM

Mia has already reached 20 hours of being cursed by Eldus, I don't think she has much longer to live. I think I have found a possible solution, but I don't know if this solution I thought of is worth the price though. I am thinking of using the Forbidden Spell: Magic Strip. This spell is able to completely take away every drop of magic a magical being possesses without killing them, but the side effects on one's psyche can be irreversible depression. It was said that those with a true pure heart would sometimes regain their powers, but never to the way it used to be. It is a cruel spell that was confiscated from an evil witch long ago. Since taking away one's magic is like taking away a part of the person's soul this spell was sealed away, and only a member of the Domino royal family can even open the scroll.

I wondered what Mia would decide: life without her magic, without a huge part of herself to live with her husband and son or leave her family behind. But I know my friend, she would want to see her child grow up while she grows old with her husband… I know that is what I would choose…

Daphne looked up after she stopped reading, her expression reflecting everyone else's. Can they take away Bloom's magic to save her or will she regret losing her powers. "I don't know how Bloom will take losing her powers. We went through that and I know I had an empty and cold feeling inside." Musa commented wrapping her arms around herself at the chilling memory. "Yea, I felt lost without my magic, and the thought of not being able to help anyone anymore hurt." Stella added. "And we all know how much Bloom is protective of us all." Flora softly added. "But I'm sure Bloom will be happy that she would get to live the normal life that she has wished for, and live together with Sky. This will just mean that we have to get stronger to protect Bloom from now on." Aisha said confidently. Everyone nodded their agreement; they want to have their leader around with or without powers.

Queen Marion stepped forward "A word of caution my dear, Daphne." "What is it mom?" "After you left I sensed that someone was watching Bloom and I sensed joy coming from that person. I think Eldus has a magical eye on her and is watching and waiting for her to lose to his curse." Everyone was disgusted and angered at this. "Then let's give him what he wants..." Everyone turned to look at Riven like he was crazy. "I mean why don't we make it seem like Bloom really did die? If Eldus is constantly watching her he will see that we are going to perform this spell and he will see that she lived... he's going to attack her again when she is powerless and defenseless while the rest of you are weak. So let's make it seem like he won, we can give him an illusion or something to believe..." Riven blushed and scratch the back of his head when he saw that everyone was gaping at him. He started thinking that maybe it wasn't a good idea after all. "Or not..."

"Riven you are a genius!" Musa exclaimed as she gave her boyfriend a huge hug and kiss. "What? Really?... I mean I know I am" He said with a relieved grin. "Wow didn't expect Riven to come up with a good idea for once." commented Brandon. "Hey, I heard that!"

"Ok so all we need to do now is look for the forbidden scroll and think of a powerful illusion magic to trick Eldus." "I think I know where that scroll is." "Really Thoren? Where?" In the same area that we were looking in the archives remember that scroll that landed on my face when I was trying to grab something on the top shelf? Well, I couldn't get it opened so I left it on the table you were using, thinking maybe you could open it later... I didn't want to interrupt you."

"Great! We might have just found the scroll… now the illusion any ideas?" Queen Marion stepped forward with a smile "I can handle that Daphne." "Really?" "Of course my dear, I'm a master at illusions. I always had to keep the Ancestral witches busy with clones of your father until he was close enough to land his attacks. They could never tell which one was a fake" Queen Marion said with a smug grin. "Well, that didn't take a lot of brain storming" Stella said gleefully "Alright Mom, you and Tecna think of the illusion's timing. In the meantime I need to read that scroll." Daphne turned to Thoren "Let's get that scroll Thoren and get to work." "Yea!" the two of them rushed out of the room as soon as they ate their dinner and back to the archives.

* * *

Daphne grabbed the scroll that Thoren told her about and started to read it. 'Sigh' "This is going to take all the Winx and Sky to pull this off. It's a bit of complicated spell and with Bloom being as powerful as she is, it will take all of us to make this work, it will especially need Sky's strong love for Bloom." Thoren put a reassuring arm around her, when he noticed that there was some doubt in her eyes "It'll work Daphne and since Bloom is already weakened by the curse it'll be easier than if she was at full strength, right?" "Your right Thoren…let's get back to the girls and get started, it's getting late."

* * *

Daphne found everyone talking about the illusion in the dining room. "I still think it should be a dramatic death like Romeo &amp; Juliet" commented Stella "We don't want to make it obvious that it's an illusion Stella." Tecna said as she rolled her eyes at the sun fairy. "But it will be worth the watch." "Let's just keep it simple." Queen Marion said calmly.

"How is it going guys?" Daphne said when she walked up to the table. "We just finished planning out the illusion sequence." Flora replied "perfect now we can go over this Forbidden spell." Daphne went over the basics of the spell and the tasks of everyone in order for this to be pulled off. "Are we ready to go to the Great Room?" Everyone nodded "Alright let's go and don't forget that Eldus is watching."

* * *

Everyone walked quietly into the room and Daphne walked up next to Sky and looked at her little sister. She saw how pale Bloom had gotten, and she looked like she was in so much pain that it was heartbreaking. "Hey Sky. How are you doing?" "I don't like seeing her in so much pain Daphne. No matter what we do it doesn't look like she is comfortable. She's sometimes even cries out in pain and there is nothing I can do but sit here." The Winx started to tear at seeing their friend in so much pain. "I think we found a way to save her Sky, but there is a price and it will be very difficult… shall we try?" Sky looked up with some hope in his saddened eyes.

"I'll do anything as long as it saves her life I will pay any price." Daphne shook her head "It will be difficult for us and especially you, but Bloom will pay the price… she will lose all her powers…" Sky didn't care how hard it was for him but he hesitated wondering how Bloom will take to losing her powers, but decided to go with the plan anyway "I know as long as we are together she will be happy… I will make sure of it." Daphne nodded and reached over to cup her sister's face "Ok let's begin"


	12. Chapter 11: Lost in Darkness

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Leonard, Mia, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_ I'm so glad that I was able to post this next chapter so quickly! XD _

_Well this chapter will have more long explanations of things...I hope that it is all understandable... if not please let me know so I can make it easier to understand I would hate to leave you even a little confused._

_Now there are a couple of things that I wanted to mention before I let you go...Sorry: _

_1) in case anyone was even a tiny bit curious about where I got the name "Keres Curse" I named it after the Greek death-spirits of the underworld. They are a group of spirits that were each named for something related to death or evil/greed such as: Doom, Blame, Envy, Misery, Strife, etc. So I tried to incorporate them into the curse hopefully it makes sense if not... then just ignore this little paragraph? haha...? :-)_

_2) And I just wanted to say THANK YOU! To all my followers, commenters (like Anna, Ari and 89990000 ;-) ), and even all the causal readers! I appreciate all your constant support and taking the time to read my first story! LOVES YOU ALL! _

_Now back to the story! ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 11  
****Lost in Darkness**

"Alright. First we need to go back to earth where Bloom was cursed." "Why?" Sky asked Daphne "Well, Jeanne wrote that being in the location where they were cursed can help in removing it because the dark magic will still be lingering in the area and the curse will want to head towards it." "That seems more like a theory than a fact." Tecna noted "That's true but I don't want to take any chances this is our only hope in saving Bloom." Everyone nodded and Daphne opened the portal to Gardenia. Once everyone was through the portal Daphne levitated Bloom's bed and gently pulled the bed after her through the portal, with Sky following closely behind.

As soon as they were back at the old Garbage Plant the Winx were already going around inside the building making sure the building was stable from the last battle. "Everything is perfectly stable Daphne. You guys can come in." Flora told the three waiting outside. Daphne and Sky nodded and stepped inside the old Plant. Daphne gently placed her little sister in the middle of the room before turning to Sky and telling him the details of the spell.

"Sky this part is going to be a bit challenging for you so you have to listen carefully." Sky nodded in agreement "This spell is a bit complicated and since I'm not as powerful as Bloom, it will take all of us to make this work. This is how this spell works: the Winx and I will have to take most of your energy and place it in Bloom, your mind will be linked to your energy, so you will be able to use it at will when you enter Bloom's subconscious. Now your job will be complicated. The way Jeanne described it was: you will see Bloom fighting a dark shadow army, which is the curse. Each magical attack that Bloom uses against the army, it will absorb it and grow stronger until it has fully absorbed all the magic that she has... and you know what happens to a fairy when her magic is completely depleted..." Sky paled but nodded knowing the consequences. "...now your job is to meet up with the Bloom in her mind and try to convince her, to willingly separate from her magic, once she does we will use it to attract the shadow army to the center, where we will force the curse out."

"But how can I convince Bloom to give up a part of herself, especially in the middle of a battle?" Daphne looked compassionately at Sky "You will need to somehow convince her that you and your love for each other is strong and worth living in a world without her magic... There are a few things that you need to keep in mind before you meet with Bloom's subconscious: First, Jeanne recorded that the longer someone fights the curse the more they forget their joyous memories of reality, leaving only nightmares. Those nightmares torture their minds enough to give them physical pain in reality each time the curse takes their magic. That's why Bloom is constantly in pain now, like I told you before, magic is like a part of our soul so each time our magic is forcefully taken from us it is like we are being tortured and beaten, each time getting worse and worse until there is nothing more to feel in the afterlife..." Sky felt a sharp pain in his heart when he heard the reasoning for Bloom's suffering and it hurt him more when everyone heard Bloom cry out in pain again. "What else do I need to know Daphne?" he said eager to save his fiancé. "Secondly, do not be discouraged if she does not remember you at first. The feelings she has for you will still be in her heart it will just take her mind a bit to connect to that feeling. Third, Bloom must be fully willing to give up her magic in order for her to be safely separated from her magic. The slightest hesitation could end in ruin." "How will I know if she is fully willing?" "When you see a perfect magical copy of her appear when her magic separates from her. According to Jeanne it will have to be a exact copy , if figure is blurry in any way it means that she is hesitant and you won't have long to erase that hesitation from her mind. Because once the magic becomes a glowing orb it will be too late and the spell may fail." Sky nodded "What will you guys be doing?" "We need to collect all the shadow soldiers and make sure they are all gathered together before Bloom completes the orb of her magic. Right now they are spreading throughout Bloom's body; that is why she has a light dark aura surrounding her, it's the curse working its way and destroying any chance she has at recovering. Once we collect the soldiers all we will need is Bloom's magical orb. We will then combine your energy with Bloom's magical orb and then completely separate Bloom from her magic by taking it out of her body. And we will make sure the shadow army follows the orb out of Bloom's body thus hopefully saving her..." Daphne took a moment to go over everything in her head to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

"The only thing I am worried about is that since the Dragon Flame is an inextinguishable force the curse might grow too strong for us to destroy if it absorbs all of it. So we will have to separate the reminder of pure magic from curse and free it from the curse's hold, that way the curse can just fade away once there is no more magic for it to feed on." "Well, this just sounds like a walk in a park, doesn't it." Stella remarked "Well, it should be fairly plausible if we all just keep each other updated and work together." noted Tecna. "What will happen if Eldus realizes Bloom survives this? Won't you guys be too tired to fight him?" Sky asked "Well, that's why our beloved Specialists are here to protect us if Eldus does make an unwanted appearance." Stella said happily while hugging Brandon. Sky just nodded hoping that Eldus will just be too busy to bother them. "Well, now that we all understand our jobs let's get started before it's too late." Daphne said as looked at her worsening sister.

Once everyone had gathered closer, Daphne magically made another bed appear next to Bloom's and told Sky to lie down on it. Sky nodded and did as he was told. "Now just relax Sky... this might hurt a bit. Don't forget that you are as strong as you will yourself to be. This battle won't be fought in reality, the possibilities are limitless in one's subconscious." Daphne told Sky before he closed his eyes and felt the pain of his energy leaving his body...

* * *

"Well, ladies would you look at that." Eldus said with a chuckle as he started to realize what the fairies were trying to do. "What are they trying to do Eldus?" Stormy asked "They are trying to perform the Forbidden Spell: Magic Strip. This will be quite entertaining." he said with an evil smile. "Why is that?" "Because, my dear Icy, this will only result in killing their leader faster." "Then why are they going to use it?" "Well, they probably think that it will work as a cure. But as a cure for my Keres Curse, it is a spell that only worked for Jeanne 2 out of 13 times..." Eldus' smile grew wider "And I only casted my Keres Curse 13 times before she managed to seal me away."

"Wow even for Jeanne to barely have a success rate of less than 7% must have taken an incredible amount of power and control." Darcy noted "Exactly my clever witch. Jeanne couldn't save all 13 victims of my favorite curse and she was the most powerful fairy that every lived. It killed her each time she would lose someone because this spell would end up killing the person once the spell was completed and she would believe that it was all her fault and lack of power." Eldus laughed at the memories he had of watching Jeanne cry because she failed to save someone. "If Jeanne didn't have enough power I'm surprised the Winx want to try. They must really want their leader gone." Stormy said with a snort. "Or maybe they don't want their precious friend to suffer and just end her suffering faster." Darcy said with a sarcastic and dramatic tone. The Trix laughed at the goodness of the fairy's hearts.

"Pay attention, my dear Trix, if in the extremely slightest chance they do succeed you three will go and finish her off once the spell is completed." Eldus told the excited Trix "Why can't we go now?" Icy asked ready to leave that moment "Because once the spell is complete the Winx will be too exhausted to fight back and Bloom will no longer have her powers..." Stormy interrupted "But it will be more fun if they try to put up a fight." Eldus looked at three witches and gave them a cold glare "...and I want to see the end of this show without interrupting the fairies." The Trix flinched under his glare and obediently nodded to his demands. He softened his glare before he added "I enjoy seeing the look of hopelessness on good and innocent fairy's faces when they fail at something this important." The Trix smiled again and sat down quietly to watch the Winx perform the spell.

* * *

'I wonder how I got into fighting these shadow creatures... I don't really know why I'm fighting them... I just know I can't lose to them... I can't lose… I think someone is waiting for me...' The red haired fairy kept sending attack after attack towards the army advancing towards her, but no matter what she did the army just grows and grows while she gets weaker. "Flame Storm!" the fairy exclaimed when a shadow soldier charged at her

'What was the last thing I remember again? ... I was fighting someone evil... he needed to be stopped but… I was too weak... he tried to hurt someone... someone I love dearly... oo why can't I remember his or anyone's face clearly... each time I try to remember anyone, their face fades away more...' Bloom jumped out of the way from a soldier's clawed slash aimed at her chest and threw a Flame Storm Vortex Burst at it. She fell to her knees from exhaustion 'My body is starting to feel heavy... it hurts.' she wrapped her arms around herself "What is the point of fighting if I don't even remember why I'm fighting in the first place...I'm so tired and lonely... I just want it to stop..."

"Yes, child just give into the darkness." Bloom looked up to see a shadow soldier, who was standing in front of the army, was starting to talk "What? How are you talking?... What do you mean give in? I can't do that..." Bloom said hesitantly "But in the darkness you won't have to feel pain anymore, no more fighting, just blissful peace and quiet...isn't that want you want? To stop fighting?" Bloom wondered what she truly wanted, but right now that did sound tempting "I don't know... Am I not supposed to fight you?...I don't remember..." The solider grinned knowing that the fairy will give in soon enough "You don't have to fight me... there is no need... why feel pain when you can just rest peacefully." 'Maybe he is right... I don't like this pain especially if I don't remember why I am going through this... but my heart is telling me I should resist it...'

Bloom wrapped her arms tightly around herself when she felt another spasm of pain shoot through her. 'It hurts too much... I just want to rest...' Once the spasm subsided she slowly got to her feet and started to walk towards the shadow solider. She saw him hold out his claw for her to accept. 'Is there really no reason for me to fight? Is it alright for me to give up? I don't want to be alone anymore...' Bloom started to reach out her left hand to accept the shadow soldier's claw, when she noticed something shining on her hand. She stopped for a moment and slightly turned her hand to get a better look at the ring on her finger.

'This ring ... it was given to me by that person I love... Why do I feel so happy just by looking at it?' Bloom looked to the shadow soldier who was patiently waiting 'Will I lose this happiness if I accept his offer? Or will I find it?' "Come child, I can give you all the answers to your questions. All you have to do is willingly take my hand." Bloom slightly nodded and started to slowly step forward again. Just when she was about to grab the soldier's claw a blade pierced through it, destroying it.

Bloom blinked in shock to see a blonde man holding the large sword that just destroyed the shadow soldier. She looked into his beautiful dark blue eyes 'Who is this man? Why does he look at me with such love filled eyes?... He seems so familiar...why do I feel happy to see him?...' "who are you?" the blonde man had a flash of sadness and concern in his eyes before they were once again filled with love and determination. "You should remember me easy, right Bloom?" He reached for her left hand and held it for both of them to see her ring finger. "I am your beloved and incredibly handsome fiancé..." he leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss. Once they slowly broke apart Bloom remembered who he was "...S-Sky...?" the crown prince looked at her with a huge bright smile "Yes, my love?... do you remember everything now?" Bloom shook her head, but gave him a small smile "No, not really...I just remember that I love you with all my heart... you are my life..." "As you are mine, my beautiful Princess. You need to remember that you were cursed by Eldus when you were protecting me, but I am here to free you from this nightmare!"

Suddenly the shadow soldiers started to attack the couple. "You ruined her chances at peace!" one of them exclaimed "Now you both will meet your end here and suffer greatly for it!" another warned. "I don't think so!... we will defeat you and make it out of here together!" Sky retorted as he stood in front of Bloom to protect her from the soldiers' attacks. 'That's right… Sky was waiting for me... we are engaged and he is my true love... I guess I made him wait too long to make him need to come to find.' Bloom thought with a smile.

Together the couple fought side by side keeping the army at bay. Sky was faster than he had ever been before, always there to give Bloom support when she needed it and even when she didn't. "Wow Sky when did you get so fast?" Bloom asked her love "Well, it is just like your sister said in this world you are as strong as you will you are." He said with a smile before destroying five soldiers with one swing of his sword. Suddenly they were closely surrounded by shadow soldiers and they each charged up to attack together. Sky stood firm ready to deflect the attacks, but Bloom knew that they would not be able to dodge all of the attacks and they couldn't afford to get injured "Red Dragon Orb!" Bloom exclaimed as she put up her barrier around her and Sky, just in time for the soldiers to unleash their attacks. "Good job my love!" Sky turned to face Bloom while the soldiers kept trying to break through the barrier.

'We are running out of time I need to convince Bloom to give up her powers now...' "Bloom do you love me?" the fairy looked up at Sky with confusion "Of course I do Sky, with all my heart and being...Why?" "And I love you just as much... I know of a way to get out of this nightmare, but it is a little difficult to do... and you need to have absolute trust in me..." Sky hesitated not knowing how to convince Bloom, while she waited for him to finish 'Well, here goes nothing...' Bloom grabbed Sky's hand as comfort but she was not expecting what she heard next "You need to give up your magic..."

* * *

"How are you girls doing?" Daphne asked the Winx as they were fighting the Shadow soldiers, trying to get them closer together. Aisha flew up and behind the army "Morphix Trap!" she prepared her sticky morphix for the soldiers to get stuck on, like flies on fly paper. "Infinite Echo!" "Bio-Rhythmic Blast!" Tecna and Musa sent a few soldiers flying into Aisha's trap. "We are doing pretty good Daphne. According to my calculations, if we keep up this rate, we should be able to collect all of them soon enough." "Chlorophyll Bolt! ...do you know how Sky is doing with Bloom?" Flora asked Daphne "He found her but now comes the tricky part of him trying to convince her to give up her magic." "Solar Halo!" Stella flew in front of Daphne at protected her from a blast sent by a soldier "Flame Spiral... Thanks Stella." "No problem Daphne... let's gather these things up so we can save Bloom already." She said with a confident smile.

* * *

"Give up my magic?! I can't do that! What about protecting our friends? Our family? Our future?" Sky reached and cupped Bloom's face gently "Don't worry about that Bloom. Just trust in me, I will protect you and everyone else. Our love is strong enough to overcome you losing your powers, but I will not be strong to overcome losing you..." Bloom took a moment to allow everything Sky just said to sink in. 'I will die if I stay here... I want to be with Sky… powers or no...' Tears started to fall from Bloom's eyes as she thought of how she would feel if she lost Sky "Ok Sky, I will give up my powers, if I can stay by your side forever then I don't need them..." Sky smiled and gave her a kiss before telling her how to separate herself from her magic.

She was just about to start when the shadow army started attacking again from every angle. "Sky I can't separate from my magic with them attacking us!" Sky took out his sword a prepared to fight "Yes, you can Bloom. I will protect you just don't hesitate in wanting to give up your powers. Please just trust in me and how much I love you... we will be ok" he looked at her with such determined love filled eyes "ok Sky...I may not fully remember everything but I know our love will win this battle" Bloom released her barrier with an outward explosion and sent the army flying a few feet back, and she started to separate from her magic.

* * *

"Guys we need to hurry! I can sense that Bloom started to separate from her magic, she will be defenseless and Sky can't hold off an entire army for very long." The winx nodded in agreement. Stella turned to look at the Winx and quickly thought of a plan "Alright girls lets wrap this up: Aisha and Musa you guys do a quick look around to make sure we didn't miss any soldier. Flora, Tecna and I will go with Daphne to where Bloom and Sky is and keep the army at bay and together, until we complete the Spell." "Ok Stella, let's get to it!" Aisha exclaimed and turned with Musa to search for any stray soldiers. Meanwhile, the rest of them magically levitated the already captured soldiers and headed to where Bloom and Sky were.

* * *

Sky attacked soldier after soldier, doing a pretty good job at keeping them away from Bloom as she continued her separation spell. 'I hope the Winx get here soon, Bloom looks almost done with the spell.' Sky turned to look at Bloom's progress 'and so far I can see her image reflected perfectly in her magic' Suddenly, multiple shadow soldiers sent blasts at Sky at the same time. 'Dam!' Sky managed to stop most of the blasts but there were too many blasts at such close range to dodge all ... some were going to hit him.

He heard Bloom scream out his name as he closed his eyes as be braced himself for the blast to make contact. "Solar Halo!" Sky opened his eyes to see a blonde fairy in front of him with a shield in front of her. "Chlorophyll Bolt!" Flora made some distance between them and the army as she and Daphne landed next to Sky. "How is it going Sky? Have you convinced her to willingly let go of her powers?" Daphne asked. She didn't want to distract Bloom by going up to her now in fears that Bloom might not remember her. "Yea, she was just about to complete the spell..." Sky turned around to check on Bloom when he realized that her magic looked almost completely separated from her the only problem is her reflected image was no longer as clear as it was before... it had became blurry...

Sky rushed over to Bloom "Bloom what's wrong? Why are you hesitant?" Bloom started to tear "Sky I couldn't protect you... you were right in front of me but I couldn't do anything, I could just stand there... without my magic you will be put in so much danger... and get hurt and I will only be able to watch..." "I know it will be hard Bloom... but you need to trust in our love; in my love for you... I will protect you always... and if you still feel that you need a way to defend yourself... we can find another way for you to defend and protect without your magic... I can train you to fight and to use weapons... ok? we will be alright as long as we are together..."

'He's right, there are other ways that I can use to protect the ones I love... I will just need to train all over again...' Bloom smiled at Sky and nodded. Sky looked over to the image in her magic and saw that it was becoming clear again, but before it could become perfect the spell was complete and Bloom's magic was separated from her and burst into a bright red light and became a concentrated red orb that floated above the shadow army. 'Dam I hope that the image was clear enough...' At the same time Aisha and Musa arrived and threw the few remaining soldiers into the middle where the rest were gathered.

"Alright Everyone! It's time to leave!" Daphne exclaimed as Aisha and Flora tied the army together with their Morphix net and Magical Vine Trap to keep any from escaping. Once they were done the Winx circled around and started to complete the Forbidden Spell.

Sky cupped Bloom's face and gave her a gentle kiss. "I have to go now Bloom... but I will be waiting for you to wake up... don't make me wait too long ok?" he said with a wink before he we went to join the Winx in their return to reality.

Bloom stood were she was, too weak to move and waved goodbye to her friends and her love. "I promise I won't keep you waiting long Sky!" Sky smiled and waved back as he started becoming one with Bloom's magic and they all started to fade away, including the shadow army. But one of the soldiers broke one of their arms free and sent a dark blast to the unsuspecting and distracted Bloom, right before they became part of the now swirling red and blue orb, turning it a darker red and blue. Sky watched in horror as he the last thing he saw was Bloom getting hit in the chest and falling to ground... and he could do nothing to help her...

* * *

Sky woke up from the trance and sat up abruptly screaming "BLOOM!" Brandon rushed over to Sky and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey Sky you alright?" Sky looked around and saw that the Winx were now working on the swirling red and black orb hovering above Bloom. He watched them move it to be inbetween the Winx and the foot of Bloom's bed, then he heard Daphne order: "Ok girls we are almost done. We just need to concentrate and separate the still pure magic with the negative magic as quickly as we can." "Easier said than done!" complained Stella.

Slowly everyone saw a swirling bright blue and red orb start to separate from the darkened orb and it started to get bigger and bigger until it was much larger than the now dark red and black orb. "Ok good! Now Tecna put up your 'Digital room' barrier around Bloom, and the light orb. Aisha put up your 'Morphix Mega Wall' to protect the boys. Everyone else once the shields are up, send your most powerful attack to the dark orb. As soon as you send your attacks, put up your shields! We need to destroy this thing fast!" Everyone nodded and did as they were told.

"Total Eclipse!" "Lilac Vortex!" "Infinite Echo!" "Bio-Rhythmic Blast!" "Water Bolt!" "Flame Spiral!" ... Once their attacks made contact there was a huge explosion and sent the Winx flying back a couple of feet. When the dust and the shock finally settled everyone looked to where the dark orb used to be and saw that there was nothing left... they had destroyed it. Everyone gave a small cheer for their first victory, but now they had to know if they could truly celebrate. Was Bloom saved?

* * *

The Trix and Eldus averted their eyes at the sudden bright flash caused by the explosion of the destruction of the dark orb. When they could finally see they saw that the dark orb was gone. And everyone was blown back a couple of feet. "Eldus do we go now to take care of them? They obviously destroyed your curse." Stormy said as she angrily pointed at the crystal viewing Ball. "Be patient Stormy. They may have destroyed my curse but I'm sure they destroyed Bloom with it."

Stormy gave Eldus a confused look "Remember what I told you the consequences of depleting all the magic in a magical being?" "Yea, they die right?" "Exactly... so now that they took away all of Bloom's magic there is nothing left to sustain her. They just finished off their friend faster. Just take a look, my dear" Stormy smiled happily as she saw Bloom still motionless and pale on the bed, the only difference was that she was no longer in her Bloomix form. Everyone watched intently as they saw the Winx and the Specialists walk over to Bloom's lifeless body.

* * *

Tecna released her barrier that was still around Bloom as they walked over to her. As soon as it was down Sky jumped up off the bed just for his legs to give out from beneath him. "You shouldn't move so much Sky. You are still weak from using up all your energy." Daphne said as he was helped back up by Brandon. He just nodded and asked Brandon if he could help him go over to Bloom. Once he got to Bloom's side Aisha made a chair for him out of her morphix power. "Thanks Aisha" Sky said as he reached over and held Bloom's hand.

Sky looked closely at Bloom and realized that she was losing more color in her face, she was slowly becoming deathly pale. "Daphne is she going to be alright? She looks worse than she did before..." Daphne walked over to Bloom and tried to feel for a pulse. After a short moment Daphne gasped and started to cry. Thoren walked over to her and put an arm around her and leaned close to her, it seemed that he whispered something in her ear, but no one was able to make out what he said. Daphne nodded and turned to look at everyone's expecting faces before looking straight at Sky. "I'm so sorry Sky, we couldn't protect her... The Bloom we knew is no longer with us..." Daphne turned away and hid her face in her husband's chest.

"No, you're wrong! We had to succeed, we just had to!" Sky exclaimed. He turned to look at anyone who thought the same, but all he saw was looks of defeat and utter sadness. "Sky... she doesn't even seem to be breathing anymore... I'm Sorry..." Brandon placed a comforting hand on Sky's shoulder, but Sky shook it off and moved to sit on Bloom's bed. He then slowly bent down to hold his beloved fiancé in his arms.

* * *

The Trix and Eldus watched with so much happiness as they saw Sky pick up and hold a completely limp Bloom. They all started laughing at the misery that was unfolding before them. "Oo just look at them! I love seeing Stella's pretty face all ugly in pure misery!" Exclaimed Darcy while still laughing "And just look at delicate little Flora just breaking down. It's Perfect!" Laughed Stormy. "You were right Eldus this was a show that was worth watching every minute" "Indeed it was, Icy. It does my heart good knowing that I was able to get my revenge on my mortal enemy." He said with a huge grin.

"We need to celebrate!" "Let's have a huge party and a feast!" Exclaimed Darcy and Stormy as they jumped up and down in pure happiness. "That's a great idea ladies! Now that the show is over let's celebrate our triumph and feast!" The four of them got up to head to the dining room and the last thing they heard before Eldus sent away the Crystal Ball, just made them cheer and laugh more. The desperate cries of a defeated Prince:

"No, you can't leave me Bloom... my love...I can't survive without you..."


	13. Chapter 12: To Fight or Forget?

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Oo and to The Wonderful Anna: Do not worry I plan to 100% complete this story. And just between you and me (and all the readers lol) if this story goes as I plan... there might be a sequel... yay! I hope so! XD ... but until then I will definitely complete this story, so no worries about that ;-D_

_Anywayy... Thank you sooo much to all my readers, and thank you to those who leave behind any comments, they really inspire me to write faster lol_

_Well, ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 12  
****To Fight or Forget?**

"No, you can't leave me Bloom... my love...I can't survive without you..." Sky held Bloom's lifeless body in his arms ignoring the fact that she was getting colder. The Winx were holding onto their loved one for comfort. Daphne walked over and placed an arm on Sky's shoulder. "Sky..." "No! She's not gone, she's NOT! We were to be married... I was going to make her the happiest woman ever! ...She should've won against Eldus' curse! The forbidden spell should have freed her, not kill her!" Just as Sky bent down to give his fiancé a loving kiss, she started to fade away into tiny orange lights until she was nothing but a vanishing cloud of magical particles. "Wait what?!" Sky looked at his now empty arms in complete shock at what just happened, as soon as he looked up to question Daphne, the main door to the building swung open to reveal a silhouette in the moonlight.

"You are correct Sky, the Forbidden Spell did indeed free Bloom from the curse without ending her life." Everyone turned to the figure that was walking over to them and were shocked to realize who it was. "Mom!" Daphne said with a knowing smile "Has Eldus stopped watching?" "Yes, my dear. I no longer feel his presence hovering around Bloom anymore, so I released my spell." Queen Marion told her daughter. "Wait. What are you talking about? What happened to Bloom?" Sky asked confused about the situation.

"Apologies Sky, but the Bloom that you were just with was just a clone that I created with my illusion magic." The Queen responded "What are you saying? Then where is the real Bloom?" she turned to her right where there was a large pile of boxes and waved her right hand towards it. The pile of boxes started to vanish into a cloud of tiny orange magical particles. Once they were all the particles were cleared, everyone saw Bloom still unconscious on the bed.

The Crown Prince immediately jumped off the bed the clone was on and stumbled over as quickly as he could to the real Bloom. He sighed in relief when he held her in his arms 'Thank goodness... she's still breathing...she's still alive.' He slowly turned to face Domino's Queen "I don't understand... why would you make us believe that Bloom had died? Why would you want to trick us?" The Queen looked to Sky with very compassionate and caring eyes. "I did not wish do deceive you Sky, but it was necessary to keep you all safe." Sky shook his head indicating that he still did not understand "I will explain more in detail once we return to Domino. I would prefer we talk while Meditrina tends to Bloom." Sky nodded and turned back to Bloom.

Daphne started to open the portal to Domino but remembered something else that needed to be taken care of. She turned to the bright red and blue swirling orb that remained from the spell "Before we go there is one more thing we need to do." Everyone turned to Daphne to look at what she regarded. Everyone looked at the swirling orb and saw that it was bumping each corner of Tecna's Digital Room trying to break free. Daphne looked to the fairy of technology "Tecna, can you please release your barrier." "But what will happen when the pure raw power of the Dragon Flame roams free? The number of risks is extremely high." Tecna responded "Don't worry, the Dragon Flame is a pure and good magic, it will do no harm to the realms on its own. And I am pretty sure that this orb will just go back to its source before fading away." Tecna reluctantly nodded but released her barrier around the magical orb.

As soon as the orb was free it flew to Bloom and Sky, where it hovered above them in small circles for a moment before flying away through the hole that Eldus had created in the building.

Once it was gone Daphne opened the portal to Domino. "Let's head back everyone..." Sky carried Bloom in his arms through the portal and everyone slowly followed.

* * *

Meditirna was looking over Bloom's condition while everyone else talked about what happened. Daphne started the conversation once everyone was settled "Well, everyone was informed of the plan except for Sky..." "What plan? What happened? Why was there an illusion spell used to make Bloom look like she died? Why was I not told? How long was the Queen there for?" Sky asked in confusion "Not so fast Sky..." Daphne said as she tried to calm the prince down. "We will explain everything... Now to start things off: we came up with this plan because Mom sensed Eldus keeping a close constant eye on Bloom. We knew that he will be watching us when we tried to save her, and would attack if he found out that she had survived. In order to keep her and everyone else safe we decided to trick Eldus into thinking that the spell didn't work by using an illusion spell. Since mom is the best in the universe at illusions, she was always close by to maintain the spell while Eldus had no idea he was being tricked. We couldn't tell you the plan because you were always with Bloom if we suddenly told you to leave Bloom's side Eldus would've thought that something was up and would probably come to investigate himself. Besides, from what Bloom has told me you tend to be pretty bad at lying so this way it was genuine pain that you showed to Eldus."

"I can be a pretty good at acting if I really tried!" Sky retorted with a blush while the Winx giggled. Daphne held her hands up in mock defeat "I'm sure your right Sky, but we couldn't take the chance, I'm sure you understand right?" 'Sigh' "Yea, your right Daphne. I wouldn't have left Bloom's side and I wouldn't have been able to act very well if I knew that she was safe... But I have a question, I know that you all knew that it was an illusion but how could you have been so sure, especially since Queen Marion is the best?" "That's because we were still wearing these..." Stella said as she and the rest of the Winx raised their right hands and showed their charm bracelets. Sky looked at bracelets "What do those have anything to do with my question? They look like normal charm bracelets the only thing is that is different is that the blue heart is barely blinking, while the others have just a soft glow." "I made these charm bracelets with charms to represent each one us, and with Daphne's spell we were able to link the levels of our energies to each of the charms that represent ourselves. If we are in danger the charm will glow strong and as our powers get to a dangerously low level the glow will start to blink." Stella explained. Sky took a moment to really comprehend what Stella just said.

"So in other words since your charms of Bloom was only blinking slowly you all knew that she was still alive, just very weak..." "Exactly..." started Daphne "so when I went to check on her pulse I used my right hand that had my charm bracelet. So even though I would not feel a pulse on the illusion, I can see if the charm was still illuminated. When I saw that the charm was blinking slowly I knew Bloom was still alive... but I did almost let out that she was still alive, until Thoren came over and reminded me that we still had to make Eldus believe otherwise." Daphne looked to her husband and smiled as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Yea I was able to tell that she was happy when she gasped, and I got worried that she was gonna get too excited and ruin the plan. So I just made it seem that she needed comfort when I just needed to remind her that we were acting." the crown princess blushed and nodded her agreement.

Meditrina walked over to the group once she was done examining Bloom and slightly bowed to them. "How is she doing? Will she be alright?" Sky asked as he stood up "She is very weak young Prince, but physically she is fine... but it seems that something is mentally keeping her trapped in her own mind... maybe something happened before the Forbidden Spell was completed, I'm not exactly sure, but regrettably she has slipped into a coma... and I don't know if she will wake up or not, only time will tell..." Sky turned to Daphne with a worried expression "Right before we left Bloom's mind I saw a shadow solider slightly free itself and throw an attack... it hit Bloom in the chest...the last thing I saw was that she fell to her knees crying out my name..." Daphne stared in shock at this. "That could've been the shadow army's last attempt at destroying Bloom... if she forgets that we are waiting for her then she will forever stay in the comfort of her own mind... never to wake up again..." she turned to the healer "Meditrina is there anything we can do to help her come back?"

Meditrina looked at Bloom from across the room "I don't think there is anything that we can do Princess Daphne..." "What if we talked to her...she will be able to hear us right?" Musa asked. The healer thought about that for a bit "Well, there would be no hurt in trying but I cannot say for sure if she will be able to hear you or not... no one can actually say for sure what goes in the mind of a comatose patient..." "But there have been cases where it has worked." Tecna said as she was researching ways to help their friend and leader. The healer smiled at the group and nodded her head "Yes, it should be able to work, it can take time, but it should work..." She looked to Sky "especially if she can feel that her beloved fiancé is waiting for her...love is a powerful thing after all." Meditrina said as she gave Sky a comforting smile. Sky smiled back and walked over to Bloom and held her left hand while he started to go over the precious memories that they made together.

* * *

**_A/N: So there is no confusion... this part starts back when Sky and the Winx were just leaving, with the shadow army, Bloom's subconscious after Bloom separated from her magic._**

* * *

"I promise I won't keep you waiting long Sky!" Bloom waved to her love as she watched him start to fade away. 'I promise Sky...I love y...' the fairy didn't notice the sudden attack sent by a shadow solider. "BLOOM!" "Sky..." Bloom slowly fell to knees while clutching her chest. The last thing she saw was Sky completely fading while reaching out to her and screaming her name, then everything went dark...

'Where am I? It's so dark and quiet... Where's Sky? I don't see him... I need to find him soon...but I can't move... someone help me...'

"Relax young fairy, don't panic. Everything will be alright." "Who are you?" Bloom looked at a dark figure with blood red glaring eyes, giving her a sweet smile "Why, I am your friend. I am here to help you." "My friend? How are you going to help me?" "Why, it is very simple. You just need to clear your mind of everything." "Like meditation? How will that help?" "Once your mind is cleared and empty. I will have enough power to save you from this loneliness and darkness. Or do you prefer that I leave you alone forever in pure darkness?" he said with an evil grin. Bloom slowly wrapped her arms around herself as she looked around the empty space 'No, I don't want this... I hate this... I don't want to be alone...' Bloom looked up with tears in her eyes at the dark figure "Are you really going to help me get out of here?"

The figure smiled "You must help me get stronger before I can do anything. All you need to do is relax and just forget your worries. The faster you forget, the faster I get stronger, and the faster you are freed from this empty void." The figure held out his hand towards Bloom. Bloom shakily nodded 'I need to get out of here...he's waiting for me' She reached out her hand almost touching the figure's hand "Alright I just want to see Sky again. I promised that I wouldn't keep him waiting..."

The figure abruptly grabbed her hand tightly and laughed "O my naive fairy you will be breaking that promise!" "What? But you said, that I just needed to clear my mind and you would help me wake up!" Bloom tried her very best to free herself from the figure's tight grasp but she felt too weak to use much strength. "You misunderstood. I need you to clear your mind of all your memories and feelings so I can take your remaining strength." His free hand started to glow with a sinister black light. "But don't worry I will keep my promise and free you from this lonely void. You will find peace in the afterlife!" He grabbed her hand with both hands making Bloom scream in shock and slight pain. "NO! You can't do this! Sky said that you would be defeated if I gave up my magic. You shouldn't be able to do this!"

The sinister glow started to surround her hand and grow more and more, slowly crawling up her arm as it started to spread throughout her body. "Your right the original curse that was placed on you was broken when you separated from your magic and taken out of you, but when that shadow solider threw that dark attack at you he sparked the curse again. Sure this curse is extremely weak..." the figure shrugged "...if you were at even half of your strength you could've broken this on your own, but you are too weak to resist it now." He said with an evil smirk

"No! Please stop!" The dark figure just laughed at Bloom's pleas "Why are you doing this?" the figure's dark red eyes looked deep into her blue eyes "Because everything I cared about and wanted was taken from me, so it is only right for me to take everything from everyone else!" "That's not right! You don't have to do that!" "Yes, I do." The darkness consumed Bloom 'It's so cold and it hurts...I don't want to forget anything... I can't forget Sky!' The last thing that she remembered was Sky proposing and the joy she felt when she said yes, as the darkness overtook her.

* * *

'Ugh... what happened?... why is it so dark?' The young fairy looked around and saw only darkness no matter where she turned. 'Where am I? Who am I?' Suddenly the fairy heard an evil laughter in the distance. It slowly started getting louder and louder. "Who's there? What do you want from me?" She turned around and gasped when she saw a large black cloud with blood red eyes glaring down at her. "I want your power and heart!" the black cloud whispered though it seemed like a scream. 'No! Leave me alone!' The young fairy tried to run away from the dark cloud, but it felt that she wasn't getting very far, or anywhere at all. "You can't get away from me, Dragon's Fairy... I am surprised you were able to awaken this much, you were supposed to be a good girl and just fade away into the darkness in silence." The darkness said as it floated after her "But no matter, you will not awake out of your subconscious. I will succeed and win your heart! Whether it be in this life or the next!" the dark cloud caught up to the fleeing fairy and grabbed her, with a hand-like cloud. "No, you can't have my heart!" the fairy said as she struggled, before being eaten by the dark cloud.

"It can't end here... I need to get back..." "Where do you need to go back? You have nowhere to go back to anymore... you are all alone..." the darkness whispered as it started to take away her will and her remaining memories. "I-I'm all alone? I don't remember anything or anyone... But… I have a feeling that there was something I needed to do...' "Someone is waiting for me... isn't there?" "There's no one, fairy... they're all gone now... but you should be happy I am being gracious... I am allowing you to forget about them so you won't feel the pain of loss... aren't you glad? Aren't you tired of fighting, anyway? ...Just relax and sleeeepppp..." tears starting falling on the fairy's face as she sank deeper into the darkness 'I don't want to be alone... I don't like this empty lonely feeling... will it be better if I just forget? ... Who was I supposed to forget, again? ... sigh... I'm so tired of fighting... Maybe I should just sleep... just forget and rest...'

Suddenly there was a bright light in the distance 'What is that?' the fairy suddenly heard a soft but firm voice coming from the strong but comforting light. "You mustn't forget your loved ones, Guardian of the Sacred Dragon Flame." the young fairy slowly got up and started walking towards the bright light "Who are you? Who are my loved ones?" the young fairy asked "You will know my name soon enough. You must remember your family, your friends, your true love..."

Five figures with wings started appearing in the bright light as the red haired fairy got closer. "Hey I know them... they are... my best friends... right?" she started walking slightly faster towards the figures as more figures started appearing the closer she got to the bright light. This time it looked like a royal family for they each had a crown, they looked like a close family. "I have a feeling... that I searched for them before... are they my family?...' the young fairy started to have a small smile on her face as she ran faster towards the brightening light. As she got closer she started to see a handsome blonde man walking towards her from the farthest part of the bright light. "Who is he? ... What is this... strong feeling I have in my chest just by looking at him? Why do I feel like... like I can't live without him?" Suddenly the man held out his hand "Bloom I've been waiting for you. Let's go home my love." Tears started to fall down Bloom's smiling face.

'NO, YOU SHOULDN'T REMEMBER THEM! I TOOK AWAY YOUR MEMORIES! YOU SHOULD BE EMPTY!' the darkness grabbed a hold of Bloom before she fully entered the light. Bloom ignored the darkness that desperately held onto her waist "I remember now... I remember the Winx, my Mom, my Dad, my big sister Daphne... and I remember my one true love... SKY!" she jumped easily freeing herself from the darkness and reached for her fiancé's outstretched arms.

Once Bloom was in the loving embrace of her true love, she looked up at her beloved "I missed you Sky... I'm sorry I forgot about you for a moment there" Sky brushed away the tears that were still falling from Bloom's eyes "It's ok my love. I don't mind waiting for you, but it's time for you to wake up now." Sky leaned down and softly kissed her before leaning back to face her

"Wake up Bloom... please wake up... Please open your eyes, my love..." "Ok, Sky..." Bloom said with a small smile as she closed her eyes...


	14. Chapter 13: Let the Training Begin!

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Thank you sooo much for taking the time to read my story. _

_Well, ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 13  
****Let the Training Begin!**

Sky gently held Bloom's left hand while he talked and talked to her in hopes of reaching her. "Bloom please wake up. I miss you... I know that it has only been two days but we need you... I need you... we are all lost without you..."

"Sky why don't you go and get some rest. It's not good that you haven't slept properly in two days." Brandon said as he placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder. The prince just shook his head as he desperately held on to his fiancé's hand. "I can't leave her... she might wake up soon..." "The Winx will be here watching over her, and they will let you know as soon as possible if there is any change." Even though Sky knew his friend was right he couldn't bring himself to leave his beloved's side. 'I'm waiting for you, Bloom... you promised that you wouldn't have me waiting long... and you don't break your promises...' he thought as he looked at his best friend and slowly shook his head once, indicating that he was not going to move from his current spot. 'Sigh' "Ok have it your way." Sky bent down and gave a soft loving kiss on Bloom's lips "Wake up Bloom... please wake up... Please open your eyes, my love..."

Sky then started to notice that Bloom was slowly stirring "Mmm... S-Sky...?" "Bloom!? I'm here... can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?" Sky was so excited he had jumped out of his chair and was holding onto Bloom's hand tighter than before. Bloom's eyes started to flutter open, adjusting to the bright light coming in through the windows of her bedroom. "S-Sky... What's going on?" "Hey Sleeping Beauty it is about time you woke up. I'm so glad..." Bloom suddenly showed a slight pain on her face "My love, what's wrong? Are you in pain somewhere? Tell me." a bit shyly she said. "Sky... you are squeezing my hand a little too hard..." Sky immediately let go of her hand "I'm sorry..." Bloom reached up and gently grabbed his hand again

"No, I'm sorry. I almost forgot all about you and everyone else." Sky saw the slight tears in his fiancé's eyes and he knew that she went through a lot in order to come back to him. He gently held her hand and used his free hand to cup her cheek and brush away a stray tear. "Don't worry about that my love. The most important thing is that you remember our love and that you came back to me... to us." Bloom smiled warmly at him and nodded her agreement.

Suddenly, a hyper blonde fairy jumped in and tackled Bloom in a huge hug. "Bloom! I was sooo worried about you. I was scared that you would never wake up again..." Stella released her for a moment to look at Bloom in the eyes "...You are not allowed to do anything like that ever again! Do you understand?!" "Yes, Stella I understand. I'm sorry to have worried you." Stella started to tear up when she saw Blooms bright smile and gave her another tight hug. Bloom patted her best friend on the back to comfort her

"Stella I'm glad that your happy, but your hugging me a bit too hard... it's getting a bit hard to breathe..." 'Gasp' Stella released Bloom from her vice-grip and took her free hand instead with a slight blush she said: "I'm sorry. My joy got the better of me." "Don't suffocate her Stella she just recovered from a near death experience." Tecna scolded the sun fairy. "Yea, she is going to need all her strength to recover not to protect herself from your hugging attacks." Aisha teased. Everyone started laughing at Stella's pouting face. "Well, excuse me for being overjoyed that Bloom is awake and safe now."

"Bloom!" Everyone turned to see that Daphne walked into the room followed by Meditrina, Thoren, then the King and Queen. Daphne rushed over and gave her little sister a warm hug "I'm so glad that the spell worked. I was so worried..." Bloom hugged her sister back "Thanks Daphne, without you I might not have been able to survive that..." The two sisters held each other in a loving embrace for a moment longer before the King and Queen stepped forward "How are you feeling my dear?" "I feel ok, Mom. But I do feel very weak." "That is to be expected..." Meditrina stepped to Bloom's side to start her evaluation. "...after all, your magical powers were completely stripped from you. It will take a moment for your body to adjust to this drastic change." "What! I lost my powers!" Bloom was shocked that she didn't really remember that part very well. "I'm sorry Bloom." Daphne sadly said "It was the only way that we could find that could save your life from the Keres Curse." Bloom showed a very concerned face at this realization

"But how am I going to fight Eldus? How will I protect everyone? What will happen when Eldus comes looking for me? How could I lose my powers?" Bloom started to slightly panic and started to tremble, thinking of the worst possible scenarios. "Bloom, my love, calm down. It will be alright, I promise you..." Sky gave Bloom a comforting pat on the head "Eldus won't come looking for you, he thinks you died..." She started to relax a bit, relieved that Eldus won't be busting through any minute now to finish the job. "But I'm sure he will find out eventually, Sky. What will I do then?" Sky looked her in the eyes and confidently said "Then I will teach you a different way to protect yourself and others. I will teach you weaponry and fighting. And in the meantime I will protect you from harm, believe me in me" Bloom carefully looked into her fiancé's eyes and was taken in by the unwavering determination that she saw in them. 'Sky is right I don't need my magic to protect myself and others... I will just learn another way...' Bloom slightly smiled and nodded "Ok Sky. I believe you I don't need my magic, and I won't be defenseless the next time I face Eldus." "Don't worry about it too much Bloom. If Eldus does show up again, you will have us to protect you as well." Flora said as she stood with the rest of the Winx with pure determination to protect and support their friend. Bloom smiled warmly at everyone, knowing that they would help her through this sudden change. "Well, I can't be defenseless forever..." She turned to Sky "When can we start the training?"

* * *

"Eldus we have been celebrating for days now, aren't you tired yet?" Stormy asked as she and her sisters lounged on their large sofa exhausted, while they looked at Eldus who was still drinking and eating away. "Come on my lovely witches! There are many things to celebrate so you should be more excited! I was finally freed from my 3,000 year seal, got my body and powers back, we met each other and formed a partnership, I saw Jeanne and killed her... not to mention that young Prince suffered immensely seeing his love die for him" Eldus laughed at his fond memories.

The Trix looked at each other in slight confusion "We killed Bloom right? not Jeanne." whispered Stormy. Darcy nodded "Maybe Bloom looks like Jeanne?" Stormy rolled her eyes and leaned back in the couch "Or maybe he's just a crazy old loon who is so pressed about Jeanne that he thinks every fairy from Domino is her." "Quiet sisters..." Icy ordered "Remember he may be a bit odd, but he is going to give us unlimited power. So just be patient and enjoy the feast for now, for soon the real party will begin." the Trix nodded and continued to celebrate with Eldus.

* * *

"Bloom what are you doing? You are still too weak to get up, you should rest some more." Sky said as he tried to get Bloom back to bed "I feel fine Sky. Besides I can't stay in bed all day when there is training to do." She said as she shook off Sky's hands "But Meditrina said that you should take it slow and let your body get used to not having magic." Bloom paused thinking on how powerless she currently felt. "I'm sorry Bloom. I know that it is hard to get used to this new situation, but I don't want you to push yourself and end up hurting yourself." Bloom turned to face her fiancé with saddened eyes "But Sky it is hard enough that I am powerless to defend myself or anyone else. I don't like feeling that I always need to be protected. I need to feel that I can do something… that everyone can still rely on me in some way."

'Sigh' "Alright Bloom I will start training you... but you must promise me something..." Bloom looked into Sky's deep blue eyes waiting for him to continue "...You need to promise that you will rely on me, your friends and family when you need it. It may be hard now but it will get better, but you can't do everything on your own" Bloom nodded in agreement "Alright Sky I won't try to do things all on my own." Sky smiled and said as he gave her a quick hug "Ok good. Now let's start on some slow and easy training." "Ok! Just give me a minute to change out of my PJ's" Bloom smiled as she turned to her closet and started to get dressed into her workout clothes, while Sky went to wait outside.

* * *

Bloom and Sky entered the training room and saw that the Winx and the specialists were already in there practicing on Aisha's morphix equipment. "Hey guys, looking good!" Everyone turned to see Bloom waving at everyone and they all ran over to greet her. "Bloom what are you doing here?" Musa asked "Yea, sweetie you should be resting." added Flora "I'm fine guys, really. I just wanted to get my training started so I won't be such a burden to you guys." Bloom said with a smile "O Bloom you will never be a burden to us, powers or no. We all love you." Stella said as she gave her a hug while everyone nodded in agreement with their blonde friend and joined in the hug.

"Alright, Alright, enough with the mushy stuff. Let's get back to training." Riven said as he ran over and started to lift weights again. "Riven is right for once. Let's get started Bloom." "Yes, let's begin Sky." Sky gently grabbed onto Bloom's hand and went over to the wall that held all the weapons. "Why don't we start with some weapons training? Which one do you want to start with?"

Bloom looked at all the weapons on the wall. It ranged from daggers to hammers to throwing weapons. There were long range, short range, offensive and defensive weapons. It was hard to choose from such a variety. 'Hmm... I wonder which would be a good fit for me?' She looked to Sky and saw his weapon 'it would be nice to fight with him on the same field, back to back...' "How about I learn how to use a sword?" Sky smiled knowing what his love was thinking. "Ok, let's see how well you fair with a sword." He walked closer to the weapon's wall and reached up to grab a short blade sword. From the hilt to the tip the sword was slightly shorter than Bloom's arm. "This should be just about the right size and kind for you." "That looks like a really flimsy looking small sword, Sky. I'm sure that I can handle something better than that child's toy." Bloom said as she crossed her arms in disappointment.

"Well, why don't you try holding a longsword and see why it would be better if you had a short sword?" Sky grabbed the shortest long sword that was available and handed it to Bloom. She held out her hands and dropped the sword on the floor because she was not able to bear the heavy weight of the sword for very long. "No you see why this lighter sword would be better? Here why don't you just try holding it Bloom? I did tell you that we are just going to take it easy today. Besides this way you can see if you are really suited for a blade, you never know it could be something else." 'sigh' "Alright, Sky I'll try it..." Bloom held out her hand to accept the sword from Sky. Sky smirked as he slowly placed the short sword in Bloom's outreached hand and slowly let go of the hilt as soon as Bloom wrapped her fingers around it.

Bloom was surprised at the weight of such a small looking sword. It had some weight to it but it was light enough to be able to run around and fight with, without getting too tired, quickly. "It's heavier than it looks, isn't it?" Bloom nodded "So this is how a real blade feels like... it's heavier than I thought but I think I can manage it better than the bigger one" "Yea, bigger swords tend to be heavier. After all, swords are made of iron and since they need to cut through anything they tend to be thicker than a child's toy" Sky winked at Bloom in a teasing manner when he watched her having trouble handling the small sword at first. "Shall we try a few stances to see if you can keep your balance?" Bloom nodded and started to copy Sky in his stances and sword thrusts.

Sky watched his fiancé struggle in just keeping her balance. Every time it looked like she would finally get the stance right, she couldn't hold it very long because she was not accustomed to the weight of the short sword so he arm would tire out fast.

After a couple hours of Bloom trying to get used to the short blade, they took a break. "I didn't think that such a small sword would take so much out of me." "Yea, first time use can be exhausting. It will be harder when applied in battle." Once Sky said that he came to a sudden realization 'Bloom might not be able to handle such close combat so soon... she might get hurt if she hesitates even a little... and with the short blade she will have to get closer to her opponent than with a longer blade... but she doesn't have the strength or the stamina to fight with a long sword... I rather her be as far away from danger as possible...I've got it!' "Hey Bloom why don't you try some long range weapons? They could be a bit easier for you to handle." Bloom thought about for a while "But I would prefer if I was able to be able to fight right by your side in the front lines..." 'I was afraid she would say that...I hope my persuasion works...' "And I would love that more than anything my love, but with the possible battle coming up wouldn't it be better if we worked strategically together?" "What do you mean?" "Well, you could help me distract Eldus with long range attacks until I get closer to attack him and do some damage. We could become the perfect tag team, don't you think?"

Sky smiled while slightly nodding hoping it will encourage her to agree. He saw that she was still reluctant and disappointed in the thought of not learning how to use a sword "We will still practice with the short blade, in case you will ever need to defend yourself close range. But I think that a long range weapon will be better for you as your main weapon... you already have perfect aim from your magic training and the concentration to match, all you need to do now is apply it to a long distance weapon..." Bloom finally nodded "Your right Sky. I probably would be better at long range attacks than short range. Let's give it a try, what did you have in mind?" Sky mentally cheered as he stood up and held out his hand to Bloom. "I was thinking the bow and arrow would suit you very well."  
Bloom and Sky each grabbed a bow and an arrow quiver and went over to the practice area that Aisha made for them using her morphix powers. "Now the key is to be straight and judge the wind and distance properly before firing. Be careful not to draw back too hard or else you might break the bowstring..." SNAP! "Ow... that hurt." Sky walked over to Bloom with a smile "Are you ok Bloom?" "Yea, I'm ok but the bowstring isn't...sigh…I should've probably listened before trying it on my own." she said with a shy smile as she held up a broken bowstring on her bow. Sky chuckled at his fiancé and grabbed the bow to fix it. Once it was all fixed he handed it back to Bloom. "shall we try again my princess?" Bloom nodded and started to take aim at the farthest target and let go of the arrow.

Everyone in the room stood still as they watched Bloom shoot her first arrow and they were all shocked to see that she almost made a bulls eye. "I did it Sky! I can't believe that I hit the target!" She jumped up and gave Sky a hug as she laughed happily, while he laughed with her. "Good job Bloom. That was amazing! I told you that you would do better at this." Bloom nodded her agreement "Now, what do you say that we practice some more?"

* * *

In the deepest cave an unexpected meeting was taking place... "I see that you have traveled far young one. The journey must have been a difficult one for you, but I am surprised that you were able to find me so quickly... hmm... and I see that you have become stronger than when you were born. What an interesting turn of events, I wonder how much that will change the future... Now why don't we get started...and change the path of fate."


	15. Chapter 14: A Destined Meeting

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Thank you sooo much for taking the time to read my story. _

_Well, ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 14  
****An Unexpected Meeting**

The Winx were cheering their leader on, as she and Sky were practicing maneuvers together. It had only been a day and they seemed like they** were **the perfect team for years. "Wow I can't believe how well they fight together." Brandon voiced out loud "Agreed it seems that their bond has given them the insight they need to be able to sync with each other and predict each other's next move." King Oritel said he nodded his approval at his daughter and future-son-in law. "They have improved immensely since yesterday. Don't they remind you of how we were at their age my love?" Queen Marion lovingly asked her husband "And how we still are, my beautiful Queen." He said with a wink as he gently held up her hand and gave it a sweet kiss.

"Mom! Dad!" Bloom exclaimed as she ran over to greet her parents. "Bloom! You and Sky looked marvelous!" "Thanks Mom. I'm glad that Sky is here with me I don't know if I would be able to handle losing my powers without him. But anyway, have you guys found any news about Eldus?" the King and Queen looked at each other with concerned "No dear we haven't found anything. It could be that he has weakened for now and is just recovering, but he has not made any appearances since you last encountered him." "Oh ok thanks Dad..."

Sky wrapped an arm around Bloom's shoulders "Come on Bloom let's get some more training in. You never know when Eldus will finally recover and start causing trouble." Bloom nodded to her fiancé "Your right Sky. Let's get some more training in." They bowed their goodbye to the King and Queen before turning back to the training ground. "Do you think that she will be alright Oritel? I mean with Eldus being as strong as he is and with Bloom being as she is... it's only a matter of time before he finds out that she is still alive..." "It'll be alright Marion, she has many friends and her future husband to protect her. Besides with her new training she will be able to take care of herself with or without powers." The King and Queen continued to look on their daughter's training as they hoped that she will stay safe for as long as possible.

* * *

"Wake-up Ladies!" "W-what?!" the Trix mumbled as they sleepily stirred from their dreams. "Time to get up! It's another beautiful day and I think it is time to start to give you three your much needed rewards." With that the Trix immediately jumped out of bed and were instantly awake. "It's about time!" Stormy exclaimed "Yes, I was beginning to wonder if you were starting to forget about our reward." Added Darcy "Now, now how can I forget about the three wonderful witches that saved me from my eternal slumber." "So let's get started. I want to start feeling invincible power!" demanded Icy. "Well, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. First we will need a few things." "What! How come!?" Yelled Stormy in frustration "We you will each need a specific magical item in order for us to begin." "Why? Why don't you just give us the invincible power now?" Asked Stormy "Because my dear if I did you will most likely die… remember?" Stormy nodded in silence when she recalled the conversation that they had before they freed Eldus' body.

"So which items are we going to need? And where do we find them?" Asked Icy "The items you will need are: The Gem of Lilith, the Diamond of Isole, and the Tear of Achlys. As to where to find them I am not sure where they ended up, since I have been sealed for over 3,000 years and all." "Well, that's just great. So how are we supposed to find them?" asked Stormy frustrated. "Hmmm... well I do recall hearing that the Diamond of Isole was sent to Obsidian, but that might be a pain, since it is very difficult to enter and exit that frozen place." The Trix looked at each other for a brief moment before Icy said "Obsidian was destroyed some years ago..." "It was? How?" "Those stupid fairies managed to destroy it in order to rescue all of Domino that was imprisoned there." said Darcy "So nothing is left of that place. If the diamond was there then it would most likely have been destroyed when Obsidian was destroyed." Added Stormy.

"Not necessarily... it was sent to Obsidian because no one could destroy it. I have a feeling that it is still in perfect condition, and I have a feeling of where it might be now." "Really where?" Icy asked "Ladies, I think it is time to go and give our condolences to the King and Queen of Domino..."

* * *

"Hey Bloom! Come and have lunch with us!" Stella called out to her best friend and Sky "Ok Stella! We're coming!" "We did a pretty good job in our team training" Sky said to his love with a smile. "Yes, together we will be able to defeat any enemy that comes our way." Bloom said confidently. Sky nodded and kissed Bloom in agreement "Now let's go grab some food. I'm starving." They giggled as they both headed over to Stella.

"Well, it's about time that you two decided to join us!" Exclaimed Riven "I'm starving here and Musa won't let me have anything until you guys got here." Sky and Bloom laughed "Sorry Riven we had to quickly clean up before coming to lunch." "Yea, yea… let's eat." Everyone laughed at the eager specialist and began to eat their meals.

Once lunch was finished and desert was handed out the King and Queen stood up to address the group. "Ahem… We would like to say a few words to everyone…" Everyone turned to give their full attention to the King and Queen. "We would like to give our thanks to everyone. Without your joint efforts then Bloom would no longer be with us and we would have been a broken family once again." The King and Queen looked to their daughters with sadness remembering how they were torn apart many years ago. "We know that you all did not have to put any effort in to save Bloom, but did anyway and for that we are forever grateful." The King and Queen both slightly bowed to their guests in respect to their deeds. "There is no need for so much gratitude your majesties." Flora started "Yes, Bloom is our dear friend and we would do anything to make sure she is safe and happy, just like she would do for any of us." Aisha added "Besides, if Bloom leaves us then we would become a broken family as well." Stella finished. Everyone in the room nodded their agreement and saw that Bloom had tears of joy and gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you… all of you…my life would incomplete without any of you. And I promise that I will become stronger and ensure that we will not come close to losing anyone again." Bloom said with great confidence. "Cheers! To Friendship and family!" Helia said as he raised his glass of champagne. Everyone raised their glasses and exclaimed "Cheers!" before settling down to finish their desert (red velvet cake and ice cream, my fave lol).

They all finished and everyone started to head out of the room. Before they reached the door a guard burst through them. "You majesties! Pardon the interruption, but there is an emergency! Intruders have opened a portal to Domino!" "What?! Where? Who?" The king asked "they seem to be headed to the sacred forest. And the reports say that the intruders are the Trix and Eldus…"

* * *

"What are we doing in a forest, Eldus? I thought that we were headed to the palace." Stormy asked in frustration "We will head there next if what we are looking for is not here." "So where exactly are we headed for then?" asked Icy "there is a secret vault here in the Sacred Forest that no one really knows about. Well, except for the royal family, of course." "Why is it in this forest and not in the secured palace vault? Does it hold something dangerous?" "Well Darcy, it's something like that. It was made to hold dangerous and powerful artifacts and treasures, that evil and dangerous beings like us would be after. They sent them all here to the Sacred Forest to protect their families and subjects that live in the palace. If they were ever attacked then their families would be away from any danger." "Well, that's still stupid, evil beings would just come to this forest and take it without a fight. Easy." Stormy noted "True... except for one thing... there is a specific spell that keeps this vault hidden so it will be challenging to find it with my power alone without a map... good thing that I remember the way from my first visit there..." "When did you visit this vault?" "It was a very long time ago my dear Darcy...any way keep a close eye out. This is a Sacred Forest after all so there are many traps and spells that are in affect to keep evil out, or contained until the royal guards appear."

"Psh we can take care of anything that wants to try to get rid of us..." Stormy said as she stomped ahead of the rest "We aren't that easy to contaaa-ahhh!" the rest of the group watched as they saw Stormy step into a trap that set off a spring snare net trap. They watched a net wrap around her and bound her high up a tree, it ricochet between a few trees before finally settling down and slightly swing back and forth with the struggling Stormy.

"OW! Hey! Don't just stand there get me out of here!" "Darcy go bring her down from there." 'Of course you would say that, Icy' Darcy thought before she flew up to cut her sister down 'Sigh' "You would get yourself stuck in a stupid fairy net Stormy." "Shut it and get me out of here Darcy!" "Alright hold on..." Darcy started to reach for the top of the net "Wait. You should be..." before Eldus could give his warning Darcy touched the net just for it to repel her back against the nearest tree with a large electric burst. "...careful... hmm... oo well I tried to warn them. Icy why don't you go freeze the net without touching it so we can get on our way." Icy flew up, froze the net then punched the net and 'accidently' hit Stormy while she broke her arms free from the frozen ropes.

"Ow! What's the big idea Icy?!" "Sorry I was just trying to help you out of the net sister." Icy said with a shrug "Now hurry up you two, Eldus is waiting for us." Darcy floated off the tree she was resting on and started to float down with Icy while rubbing the pain on her head she received from that blast. Stormy followed soon after as soon as she freed her legs. "Now if you three are done we need to get going, we are almost there." he turned and started to walk deeper into the forest "Yes, Eldus." the Trix replied as they followed him.

* * *

"No Bloom you cannot go with us!" Exclaimed Stella "I should be able to go. I can still fight! I'm going!" "Now Bloom, my love, I don't think that going will be a good idea." Bloom turned to Sky with a hurt expression "But Sky I thought that you believed in me. I thought that we became such a good tag team, we practiced so much." "I do believe in you Bloom, together we ARE the perfect tag team. But I still don't think we are ready for a full on fight, especially with Eldus." "I can do it Sky. I can fight him just give me the chance to prove it."

"NO!" Bloom was shocked at Sky outburst 'He's never yelled at me before' "I'm sorry I yelled at you Bloom... But I don't want you to fight Eldus right now... I lost you once and it was more than I could bear... If I lost you again I don't think that I would be able go on..." Bloom saw the pure sadness in her fiancé's eyes and looked around to see sadness in everyone's eyes as well. "so please for my sanity, for your family and friends... please stay safe for now..." 'He's right I'm not ready to fight Eldus yet...' Bloom slumped her shoulders in defeat 'sigh' "Alright Sky you win... I will stay safe and wait for you guys..." Everyone in the room sighed in relief "Thank you Bloom. I love you." "I love you too Sky. Please be careful while you are out there Sky... promise?" "I Promise"

"Alright now that we have that settled let's go kick some old sorcerer's butt!" Riven exclaimed. Queen Marion stepped forward "I will open a portal that will lead you directly to the sacred vault, that is located to the West of the Sacred Forest. I'm not sure what Eldus is after exactly, but the only thing there of interest will be items in the sacred vault." Everyone nodded and stepped through the portal to the sacred forest. While Bloom and her family sat around the room and prayed for their safe return.

* * *

"Well, here we are ladies." The Trix looked around an just saw a cluster of ordinary trees in front of them. "Umm... where are we per say?" asked Stormy "There's nothing here but more trees..." "Actually my dear we have arrived to the secret vault, just watch and see." Eldus took a step closer to the cluster of trees while the Trix looked on with baffled expressions and he started to chant a spell. After a few moments of chanting the image of trees started to fade away and become a small temple-like building with two large metal knights with spears standing by the entrance. "Wow we never would have been able to have found that on our own." Darcy noted. "Shall we ladies?" The Trix nodded their agreement and started to walk closer to Eldus.

They started to enter the vault when they were stopped and thrown back a few feet. "Those of non-royal blood may not enter here." One of the knights stated "What! They're alive?" asked Stormy "Well, they shouldn't be that strong. They were created like 3,000 years ago, right? They should've weakened by now." Icy commented. The Trix got up and attacked the metal Knights. "Icicle Rampage!" "Blast of Darkness!" "Howling Storm!" they smiled when they made a direct hit "Yes! We got them! That was easy." Stormy said with confidence and started to head towards the entrance again "Umm... You should look again Stormy." "What do you mean Darcy?"

Stormy turned around just in time to see the knights aim their spears at her and start to lunge them at her. She covered her head and braced for impact. She heard an explosion and felt something rain down on her. Once it stopped she slowly opened her eyes and no longer saw the knights. "Umm… What happened?" She asked as she looked around and turned to see Eldus with an arm up and her sisters looking at shock at him. "Do be careful, my dear Trix. We wouldn't want you three to get hurt before you are rewarded now do we?" Eldus said with a smile. "Now do stay close when we enter." The Trix nodded and started to follow Eldus into the vault.

Eldus reach for the door when there was a yellow beam of light that hit the ground in front of them "Not so fast!" "Well, if it isn't our favorite sun fairy. Are you ready for me to clip those pretty wings of yours?" sneered Icy. "You can try but you can't beat us!" "Yea, tell that to your dead leader." Remarked Stormy. The Winx froze in silence not wanting to give away that Bloom was still alive. Thankfully, the Trix and Eldus took that as the Winx were still saddened by their leader's demise. "Seems like I struck cord. Don't worry, fairies, you will all meet your leader soon enough...Icicle Shredder!" "Everyone watch out! Digital Room!" Tecna shouted as she stepped forward to protect her friends "Good job Icy. You guys keep on distracting these little fairies while I go grab what we came for." the Trix nodded while they continued to throw attack after attack at the Winx, while Eldus slipped into the vault unseen.

"Hey sisters look at who is also here at the party." "Who are you talking about Icy?" "Look carefully, Stormy... it's a certain Prince who just lost his princess." The Trix showed an evil smile when they noticed Sky among the Winx and Specialists. "let's have some fun with him..." Darcy and Stormy nodded and paused their attacks long enough for the Winx and Specialists to start to surround them. Thankfully for the Trix, Sky was towards the end of the group and was easy to separate from his friends. "Darcy, Stormy, you two distract the rest of them while I finish off the pretty Prince." Icy flew over to Sky and Brandon and started to throw attacks at them. "Ice Vortex!" (this is a two beam attack one on each hand btw) One ice beam hit Brandon and sent him flying while Sky was able to stand firm against the second one. "I'm impressed that you were able to stand up against that attack, Sky... well let's see how well you do against this one... Icicle Rampage!"

* * *

'I need to go the Sacred Forest... Something is calling me...' "Bloom what is wrong, my dear?" Queen Marion asked as she saw that her daughter was pacing back in forth and being very restless "Mom... I think that I need to go see what is going on in the Sacred Forest... I have a strong feeling that I need to go there...someone is calling me...it might be Sky or the Winx are in danger" The king and Queen looked at each other with deep concern, but felt that their daughter was very serious about this. "Very well, Bloom you may go but you must promise that you will keep away from danger as much as you can... you still are not fully recovered...and you promised your fiancé that you will be safe." "Yes, Dad I promise I will be very careful." They nodded and Queen Marion opened up a portal to the Sacred Forest. Bloom grabbed some weapons and stepped through the portal with confidence and determination to see what was waiting for her in the Sacred Forest.

* * *

In the deepest cave the unexpected meeting continued... "hmm... it looks like your own destiny has started, young one. I made it that your paths will cross. Though I will have to seal your memories for now. I'm sorry you have not had time to fully adjust yet, it must be hard on you; you must still feel weak" "It's ok I will be fine... But why do you have to seal away my memories?" the child asked "Because the future is not set in stone... there are many possibilities that can take place to change it, and if for example, you know a possible future outcome of a battle and you try to change it, and change the main future that we need to focus on...the one we want…" The young child looked fearful "I'm scared. What if I mess up? What if I choose the wrong path? What if they don't like me?" he gave her a gentle smile and hug "Don't worry young one, all that truly matters is that you find your happiness and your family...just trust in yourself and your heart, everything else will follow suit" the child nodded "Will I see you again?" "You will one day... now go young one, head towards your future... write your own story… and don't forget the message I told you to tell her." The child stood up gave small kiss to his cheek and walked out of the cave and into the forest. "I won't forget... see you soon!"

* * *

Bloom had just arrived to the sacred forest, but it did not look like she was sent to the west of the sacred forest but instead was sent to the deep center. She looked around in hopes that she was near her friends, but she could not tell which way to go. "I thought that Mom would send me really close by, or at least enough to hear them from a short distance. But I don't see or hear anything...I wonder where I am..." the young princess looked around 'I wonder which way I should go... well let's see if I can still sense anyone...' Bloom closed her eyes and concentrated, after a moment she turned to her left "That way! I don't know why since I can't feel Sky or the girls... but I feel that something is calling me...something important..." Bloom took a moment to take some deep breaths since she was not sure what she was going to encounter in this forest. "Well, it's a good thing that this place is called the SACRED forest and not the Dark forest so it shouldn't be too scary in here... I just hope that I find my friends or a way out before nightfall..." Bloom looked up and saw that she still had about two hours of sunlight left and started to walk.

* * *

"You will have to do better than that Icy!" exclaimed Sky with a smile when he managed to block Icy's attack. "Don't get to cocky Prince or you will end up like your precious Bloom... Dead!" Icy said as she threw another attack at Sky. "You will pay for what you did to her!" Sky sent Icy's attack right back at her and landed a direct hit "Ow! You will regret that!"

"Now, now Icy... there is no need to lose your temper... besides we got what we came for, it is time for us to make our exit." "But Eldus we want to defeat them once and for all." Eldus shook his head and motioned for Icy to take a look at her sisters "You are the ones that will end up being defeated at this rate... that's why I am going to make you stronger but we need the other two pieces in order to do that... now shall we go?" Icy reluctantly nodded "Good... It's time to make our departure ladies!" Eldus exclaimed to Darcy and Stormy "No arguments here!" said Stormy as she started to fly towards Eldus and Icy.

"Not so fast Trix! Morphix Net!" "Bio-rhythmic Blast!" "Infinite Echo!" "Chlorophyll Bolt!" "Total Eclipse!" "Flame Spiral!" The Trix saw the attacks coming and were about to put up a shield to defend themselves, but Eldus took a step forward and easily blocked the attacks with one slight wave of his hand with a barrier. Once the attacks hit his barrier he released the barrier, and he laughed as it made a black fog surround everyone.

"Ray of Pure Light!" Once Stella purified the fog they all saw that Eldus and the Trix had disappeared. "Dam they got away." Aisha said in frustration "What do you think they were after?" Flora asked as she looked to the building in front of them. "What is this place anyway? And what is it doing in the forest?" "Well, Musa this is the Royal family's secret vault. It holds some of the most sought after and dangerous artifacts in the known dimension. We keep here in the forest to protect the palace and all who live there. Since no one would expect that such artifacts would be left alone in a forest. They were safer here and no one but the royal family knew about it... I wonder how Eldus was able to find it especially with its powerful cloaking spell..." "Well, we can ponder about that later, first we need to find out what he took from the vault and why it was so important." "Your right, Tecna. I suggest that Tecna, Timmy, Thoren and I stay behind to investigate. While the rest of you return to the palace and inform my parents and Bloom of the situation. They should be able to find the spell in the archives of how to replace the original barrier and defenses." "Alright let's get to it, girls!" Stella said as she opened up a portal back to the Domino palace.

* * *

"I'm sure she is fine Marion. She probably already found the Winx and Specialist and are on their way back soon." "But Oritel, she was sent nowhere near the battle." "It's ok Marion let's just wait a little longer hopefully the Winx will be back soon and we can ask them before we send out a search party..." Suddenly a portal opened up in front of them and the Winx and Specialists started to walk through. Once the portal closed behind Sky, Queen Marion looked to her husband "Oritel she's not with them... we have to go look for her now!"

"What is going on, your majesties? Is something wrong?" "Unfortunately, yes there is Sky... Bloom wanted to meet you guys in battle... my Queen opened up a portal for her to land in the area where you were... but someone changed the trajectory of the portal and sent Bloom to another part of the forest... we don't know exactly where in the Sacred Forest Bloom is... she's missing..."

* * *

"I've been walking for a while now and I can't find anyone" Bloom looked to see how much sunlight she had left "It doesn't look like I have much daylight left...If I don't find my way soon I'm going to have to spend the night out here... great..." She took a moment to take a look at her surroundings. "Maybe I should turn around the forest is getting thicker so I must be going deeper into the forest instead of out... let me try calling Sky..." She took out her phone "Well, this is just perfect, no service and I haven't practiced using the communicator without magic yet... so it looks like I'm stuck here for now..." Suddenly she heard movement in the bushes behind her. She took out her bow and arrow and aimed to the spot where she heard the noise. "Who's there? Come out slowly or I will fire!" There was a pause but then out of the bushes stepped out a young girl covered in mud. She seemed to be about five years of age, she had messy light red hair with purple streaks, with sticks and leaves sticking out everywhere, that reached the middle of her back, she had a torn oversized dress that hung off her shoulder and so long that it dragged on the floor, and she had a belt around her waist that had some muddy debris hanging off of it. With her crystal blue eyes she looked frightened and confused, when she saw Bloom pointing an arrow at her she fell backwards and started to cry. "O hey..." Bloom put away her weapon and ran over to the little girl "I'm sorry I scared you. Are you alright? Can you stand up?" The small girl looked up at Bloom with tear filled eyes and nodded, and with Bloom's help stood up

'What is a little girl doing out here in the middle of nowhere?' "What are you doing out here? Are you lost? Did you lose your parents?" The little girl started to cry into her hands again "Hey its ok don't cry, you'll be ok I'll protect you. My name is Bloom. Can you tell me your name?" she looked up from her tiny hands to look at Bloom "M-my name is C-Calida Cari..."


	16. Chapter 15: Calida Cari

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Thank you sooo much for taking the time to read my story. A special thanks to Anna and all my loyal readers. _

_Merry Christmas! Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday filled with warmth, love, and lots of yummy food! Best Wishes always! Love you all!_

_Well, ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 15  
****Calida Cari**

"My name is C-Calida Cari" Bloom smiled sweetly at the little girl "That's a pretty name. Do you know where your Mommy and Daddy are?" The young girl shook her head no and started to tear again. "Oh no, don't cry little one." Bloom patted Calida Cari gently on the head in comfort "Tell you what. How about we look for them together?" "Yo-you will... really... h-help me?" "Of course I will, two heads are better than one after all. Come on, let's first find a way out of this forest, ok?" Calida Cari nodded and grabbed Bloom's outstretched hand "Alright, well since its dusk we should find some shelter and settle down for the night. We can start heading out of the forest first thing in the morning."

Bloom and Calida Cari walked for a few minutes in the opposite direction that Bloom was going in, until they found a small cave. "Well, that looks like a good place to settle down for the night. You wait here Calida Cari I'm going to make sure it's safe to enter." Bloom started to let go of the little girl's hand until she felt a tiny hand tighten in her's. Bloom looked down at a small scared face "You will co-come back, r-right?" Bloom gave her a kind smile and knelt down to put her hands on the child's shoulders "Don't worry sweetie, I will come back and I will protect you. Plus, we will both leave this forest and find your Mommy and Daddy together. I promise, and I keep my promises." Bloom gave Calida Cari a wink as she held out her pinky for a 'pinky-promise'. The young girl nodded and gave Bloom a small smile while she did the 'pinky-promise' with Bloom. "That's a good girl. Now stay behind this tree, while I go make sure that the cave is safe to enter, ok?" "O-ok. Please, be c-careful." "I will." Bloom said as she watched the little red head hide behind the tree as instructed.

As soon as she was behind the tree Bloom started to walk slowly up to the entrance of the cave with her bow and arrow ready if needed. She reached the entrance of the cave and looked carefully at the ground in front. 'There doesn't seem to be any tracks left by any kind of animal. That's good. Let's go see inside...' The princess stepped into the cave slowly and looked around. 'So far so good.' She took a rock and threw it deep into the cave and waited. After a moment of silence Bloom stepped slowly into the cave to take a better look deeper inside the cave. A long moment passed Bloom came out of the cave and walked over to Calida Cari with a smile and her hand outreached. "Come on sweetie, it's safe to go in." the young girl nodded and took Bloom's hand to follow her into the cave.

"Well, why don't you settle down while I get some firewood?" Calida Cari nodded and went to sit down a few feet away from the entrance by a large rock and wrapped her arms around herself. Bloom took off her light jacket that she had on and wrapped it around the small girl's shoulders. Calida Cari looked up shocked at Bloom "I know that it's a bit light but at least it's something." Bloom said with a kind smile "W-why? You m-must be c-cold too." "Don't worry about me, I don't feel it as much. Besides I'm going to build a fire so we'll both be very warm soon." Bloom patted the young girl gently on the head before turning to head out of the cave.

"How's that Calida Cari?" Bloom asked as soon as she got the fire lit. The young girl nodded as Bloom went to sit next to her. "Say is it ok if I call you 'Cari' for short?" Calida Cari nodded and started to nod off. Bloom noticed that Cari was trying to stay awake. She wrapped an arm around the young girl "It's ok Cari get some sleep we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow"

* * *

"How can Bloom be missing?! We need to find her she's defenseless out there on her own. Who knows if she has already been captured by the Trix." Flora stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on Sky's shoulder. "Sky calm down it is going to be ok. Bloom is very resourceful with or without her powers. You guys haven't been training for nothing, right?" Sky looked at Flora's calm expression and took a deep breath "Your right Flora, our training will keep her safe."

"Queen Marion, are you able to recall where the portal sent Bloom?" "I tried to Aisha, but it was so fast all I'm able to remember was that she was sent towards the center of the forest." "Ok, well that's a start let's just work from the west side of the center of the sacred forest and work our way back towards the palace." Aisha commented "Why the west side and not the east?" "Well Roy, knowing Bloom, she most likely figured out that she wasn't near where we were so she would've gone looking for us. Since she knew that we were fighting on the far West side of the forest she would've kept going west in hopes that she would find us."

"Ok girls, looks like we need to get on a search and rescue mission!" "Stella wait…" King Oritel started "You should wait until morning." "What? Why? Bloom is out there all alone and lost. We need to find her as soon as possible." "King Oritel is right Stella." "Brandon?!" "Just hear me out. None of us are in any condition to go searching the woods at night, we did just come from a battle with the Trix after all. And besides the sun has gone down, it is never wise to search in darkness especially in unknown territory. We might miss her or worse you might get hurt or attacked by nocturnal creatures that roam around." Stella slouched her shoulders in defeat "Your right Brandon."

Sky nodded his agreement "Alright now that, that is all settled let's get some rest." Brandon said leading the group out of the great room "King Oritel, is it ok if I look at some maps of the sacred forest?" "Of course, Prince Sky I will have them ready for you to look at in my study in a matter of minutes." Sky gave a slight bow "Thank you, your majesty. I promise you that I will find Bloom no matter what." The King and Queen gave Sky a gentle smile "We know you will Sky."

* * *

"Sky, it's close to midnight you should get some sleep." "I can't Brandon. Every time I close my eyes I see Bloom alone and cold. I need to memorize this map so we can look for her faster." "Dude, she will be fine we all took the time to train her and she is a very fast learner. And Riven was the one who taught her how to survive in unknown territories." "Riven?" "Well, he is the best at it, especially after the first attack from the Trix from way back when. I'm sure he taught her very well." "Yea, your right Brandon. I just need to have faith in Bloom and believe that she will be alright." "Yup, I'm always right…" Brandon said with a proud look on his face while Sky rolled his eyes at his best friend "Now let's get some sleep Sky. The sooner we get some sleep the sooner we wake up to start the search." Sky nodded and went to bed. 'Please, Bloom be safe and remember your training…'

* * *

The morning sun shone brightly into the cave "Hmm… morning already…" Bloom looked around the cave and saw Cari still sleeping peacefully on her lap. 'She's such a pretty little girl… I don't know why but she looks like someone I know…' Bloom started to gently run her fingers through Cari's bright red hair. "hmm…" "Oo I'm sorry Cari, I didn't mean to wake you." "I's ok…it f-felt nice…" Cari said groggily as she rubbed her eyes. Bloom gave the girl a kind smile 'She is such a sweet girl I want to protect her…' "Shall we get moving, Cari?" The young girl nodded and slowly stood up. Bloom stood up and started to throw dirt on the fire to make sure that it won't light up on its own later. "W-which way are we s-supposed to go?" "We just need to head west until we get out of the forest… hopefully that'll be by the end of the day…or until my friends find us first" "This is a p-pretty big forest… w-will they be a-able to even k-know where to s-start?" "You would be surprised Cari. My friends are extremely talented and together we have accomplished many impossible things."

"How are you doing Cari?" "I-I'm doing… f-fine" Bloom looked down at the young girl and saw that she was panting heavily and struggling to keep up. 'She's trying her best to not be a burden… she's a strong girl… impressive.' "Well, I sure am tired. Let's take a break." Bloom said so the young girl wouldn't feel that she was holding Bloom back "oh…ok, if y-your tired Bloom." "Let's relax for a bit… here do you want some water?" "T-thanks" Cari took a small sip of the water and gave it back to Bloom. "You can drink more water if you want, there's plenty." Cari looked down at the half full water bottle "B-but you said t-that it could take all d-day to get out of this f-forest and with l-limited food and w-water we shouldn't risk wasting what you h-have in case we are s-stuck in here another night…" Bloom looked at this young girl in shock 'This little girl is very smart and observant…' "Its ok sweetie, we will find more water and food on the way…" Bloom bent down and gently patted Cari on the head "don't worry I will take care of you, trust me." Cari nodded "Ok." She then took a longer drink of water before giving it back to Bloom for her to take a drink. Bloom looked at the now practically empty water bottle 'We need to find some source of water soon…'

Suddenly they heard a loud rustling in the bushes, Bloom dropped the bottle and raised her bow and arrow and aimed. She stopped short when she saw a young fawn stumble out of the bushes. Bloom slowly lowered her bow and arrow and took a closer look at the fawn. "It looks hurt…maybe he got separated from his family and panicked…" Bloom looked around hoping to see or hear some more deer close by, but nothing. They both slowly walked forward until they were able to pet the injured fawn. "Can we look for his family too?" Bloom looked down at the two small creatures and nodded "Of course we will. It's not right for a child to be away from its parents for long. Let's take a look at its small cut before looking around, ok?"

"There you go, now that you are all patched up I wonder where your parents are." The fawn started to stand and tried to walk north-east but stumbled in a few feet. "Hey be careful! Your leg must still be sore from your cut. I'll carry you." "Bloom m-maybe his home is that w-way?" Bloom looked in the direction that the fawn was leaning towards "I think your right Cari. Let's head that way and see where it takes us." Cari nodded while Bloom pick up and carried the small fawn.

* * *

"Good morning girls." "Good morning Daphne." The group responded when they arrived to the dining room. "Have you guys seen Bloom?" Tecna asked "You guys haven't heard yet?" "What do mean Musa? We got back pretty late so we just went to bed as soon as we arrived." Daphne saw the sadness in everyone's faces "What happened?" "Well, Bloom is sort of missing in the Sacred Forest, and no one has any idea of where she is or if she is safe or not. No biggie" "Riven!" Musa scolded Riven while slapping his shoulder "What? It's true and besides she will be fine, we're going to find her right?"

"Your right Riven. We are going to find her no matter what." Sky said confidently while he carried some maps in his arms. He placed them on the table for everyone to see. "Here is the plan. We are going to search 5 miles west from the center of the Sacred Forest and work our way east, back to the castle. Hopefully we will find her before we exit the forest." "Don't worry Sky we will. Now let's eat breakfast and have some rescue packs made to take with us." Tecna said as everyone nodded and sat down to have a quick breakfast and prepare to find their leader and friend.

* * *

"Wow, Bloom l-look at that." Bloom and Cari looked before them and saw a beautiful gentle waterfall with a medium size clear as crystal pond at the base, surrounded by a valley full of flowers. "I wonder if this little guy's parents are around here." Suddenly they heard something running from behind them. They turned around to see a large stag charging at them. "Cari get behind me!" Bloom gently put down the fawn next to Cari and pulled out her bow and arrow and shot an arrow at the ground in front of the charging stag. The stag stopped his running and reared on its back legs a few feet away from them. Once it landed it stared down Bloom who had another arrow aimed at him in case he charged again. "We are not here to hurt you… we are just looking for this one's family… we found him hurt in the forest and just want to see him home, safe…" The stag refused to move until it heard the young fawn cry out, and was even more shocked when a doe rushed out of the nearby bushes. Bloom was surprised to see a pretty doe rushing towards them. Since Bloom did not feel that the doe didn't mean any harm she lowered her bow and arrow, but did not move from blocking Cari and the fawn. Once the doe was close enough to touch, the fawn cried out again and shakily stood up and walked around Bloom towards the doe. They started to nuzzle each other once they were close to each other.

"B-Bloom do you think she is his m-mom?" "I think so Cari." Bloom tensed as she saw the stag stomp closer to them while still glaring at her "W-will he h-hurt us?" Bloom stared at the stag waiting to see its reaction "I don't think so, not as long as we don't hurt him… I think he was just protecting the doe." Bloom slowly put her bow and arrow on the ground and raised her hands to show that she was unarmed. The stag nodded and reached down to nuzzle the fawn as well. "Well, it looks like we found his family. Now why don't we take a break and look for something to eat around here. Since we are by a waterfall there should be some berries to eat, but first let's get some water I'm getting thirsty. How about you, sweetie?" Cari nodded and followed Bloom to the edge of the pond that formed at the base of the waterfall and took a drink of water.

As Bloom filled up the water bottle she looked up to see the deer family walk over to them and place a bunch of berries cradled in a large leaf at their feet. "Is that for us?" Bloom asked. The young fawn nodded and went to give them each a lick before walking over to his parents and followed them back into the forest. "Thank you! And don't wander away from your family this time!" Bloom yelled towards them as Cari and her waved good bye. Once the deer were out of sight Bloom looked to Cari. "Let's enjoy this meal yummy meal and view before we continue on our way." "Ok" The two sat down and enjoyed their meal by the beautiful waterfall.

* * *

"B-Bloom… umm… h-how much l-longer will we have to go?" Cari asked after they had walked a few more hours "Well, it shouldn't be that long, sweetie. The trees are getting thinner so we must be close to the exit. Hopefully we will be out of here before nightfall." "I-I'm sorry Bloom… b-but can we take a b-break?" Bloom saw that Cari was barely able to stand up any more. She nodded and put down her bow and quiver "Sure let's take a short break." Bloom looked at her watch and saw that it was almost eight at night. 'It will be night soon…I'm pretty sure we are very close to getting out of here… if we get out of here we can find the town that was really close by and we can get a ride back to the palace before long… a thirty minute break should be good.' Bloom looked down at Cari and saw that she already had fallen asleep on a patch of soft moss. 'She must be so tired…' Bloom sat down near Cari and unwillingly, she slowly fell asleep.

Bloom woke up with a start 'Oh no! I fell asleep! I guess I was more tired than I thought… what time is it?' Bloom looked down at her watch and saw that it was five in the morning 'Wow looks like I was just as exhausted as Cari… well we can't continue now, it's too dark to see…' Bloom looked down the path that they were taking and began to see something 'wait… what is that?' Bloom rubbed her eyes to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. Before her, the path they were taking was glowing 'There's a moss path? And it's glowing?! Could it mean that we are really close to the exit… I have a feeling that we should follow that path' Bloom turned to Cari and saw that she was still fast asleep beside her "Hey Cari, sweetie, wake up… we gotta go…" the young girl rubbed her eyes and mumbled "But it's still dark out… I wanna sleep some more…" 'She's so cute! …but we need to get going…well I'll just carry her then' Bloom placed sleeping girl on her back while she was still deep asleep. "hmm… so soft and warm…" Cari mumbled half asleep as she snuggled against Bloom's back and was almost completely hidden by Bloom's long red hair. "Sleep Cari. Hopefully we will be out of here soon and we can get some proper rest…"

* * *

The Winx and the Specialists had just regrouped right outside the Sacred Forest, after they had searched all day and night with no luck in finding their beloved leader "How could we not find her? We should have found her by now…" "Sky its ok we will find her. I wish I knew the ancient language the trees speak, then they could tell me where she is." "Yea, Flora is right we will find her even without the tree's help. Maybe we just missed her or she went a different direction or maybe she was hiding or something." "…Thanks for your input Riven it was very insightful." Brandon sarcastically said. Aisha stepped forward "Maybe we should take a break, we have been searching non-stop all day and night." "Yea, I'm exhausted and I feel all forest-y." Stella dramatically complained. Sky started to get frustrated with everyone's lack of concern for his missing fiancé  
"Aren't you guys worried about Bloom at all?" Tecna stepped forward and calmly looked Sky in the eyes "We are Sky, but how will be able to search for her properly if we are too exhausted. If we are not careful then we could easily miss her even when she is right in front of us, or one of us will become lost leaving two or more missing instead of just one." 'Sigh' "I'm sorry. Your right Tecna… we should take a break…" Tecna nodded "Ok, Let's go back to the palace and take a look at the maps again. Maybe there is a way for me to scan the forest without having the forest's pure magic interfere with the scan."  
Sky nodded and walked a few feet away from the group along the edge of the forest while Stella opened up a portal to the palace. Sky looked back to see that everyone was starting to walk through the portal. Before walking back he took one last look at the forest and saw the dusk appearing before the sunrise. 'Please be safe Bloom… oo how much I want to see you right now and hold you in my arms…'  
Suddenly there was a strong gust of wind coming from the Sacred Forest that sounded like a roar. Sky held up his arms to block his face from flying sticks and leaves. He was shocked when he suddenly heard a deep voice in the wind. "It has begun, young King … your skills must be sharp, your love unyielding… be warned the future is now uncertain …protect your family…death and pain still hover near…" "What do you mean? What has begun? Who are you?!"  
The strong gust died down, just as sudden as when it came, to a gentle breeze. Sky lowered his arms and looked around in search of the voice that he just heard. But all he saw was the sun starting to rise and a bright fiery light slowly coming out of the forest.  
Still startled by the ominous voice, Sky drew his sword and got into an offensive stance. "Who's there?!" All he could see was a bright red glow that looked like a large fire flickering with the gentle breeze, getting slowly closer and closer.


	17. Chapter 16: Safe Return

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE! I wish you all the absolute best in the new year! Don't forget that it is never too late to start fresh with a new outlook on life and mentality, and more reason to do so with the new year. Happy New Years! I loves you all! XD_

_A special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. You guys make me want to keep writing even after I finish this story. THANK YOU! _

_Well, ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 16  
****Safe Return**

"I wonder what is taking Sky so long?" Stella asked out loud as she stood by the opened portal in Domino Castle. "Yea, he should have been back by now." Aisha said "You don't think that he was attacked or something?" Roy asked "Maybe we should go back and see what is keeping him" Brandon stated. Everyone nodded and started to walk towards the portal, but before they could enter they saw someone coming through, it was Sky. "Hey dude! Where have you be-" Brandon was interrupted when they saw that something else was following Sky through the portal.

Everyone was shocked to see their favorite red haired friend step through the portal. "BLOOM!" Everyone rushed forward and surrounded their friend. "Bloom! What happened?" Stella asked after she quickly closed the portal. "Yea we have been searching all day and night for you." Musa stated "How did you find your way out of the forest?" Tecna asked "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Flora asked "And why are you slouching forward and holding your arms behind your back?" Aisha asked. Everyone took a step back to really look at Bloom and to see what Aisha was referring to.

"Well you might say that I found something... or someone..." Bloom slightly turned so she can show her friends what was hiding behind her long red hair. Everyone was shocked to see Bloom reveal a young girl who had light red hair with purple streaks, wearing a torn oversized dirty dress, sleeping soundly in Bloom's hair. "...I couldn't just leave her out there all alone in the Sacred Forest." Everyone was too shocked to say anything at first, until Tecna asked "What was she doing out there in the Sacred Forest all alone in the first place? What happened to her parents?" Bloom shrugged "I'm not sure. When I found her she was all alone and had no idea where she came from or where her parents were. She was just scared and lost, so I figured that I could help her find her parents. Shouldn't be too hard, right?"

Sky looked carefully at the young girl and at Bloom, and noticed how exhausted Bloom looked. "Hey, let's ask more questions after you sit down and rest a bit. You looked exhausted Bloom." Bloom looked to Sky and gave him a sweet smile. "I'm alright Sky. Just a bit sore from walking so much." "Then let me at least take the girl so you can sit down." Bloom nodded and turned her back to Sky so he can take sleeping Cari from her back. Sky cradled Cari in his arms and looked at her sleeping face 'Why do I feel a like I should know this girl? Like she belongs with us... Odd... I know I have never seen her before...' Sky shrugged it off and went to sit with the rest of group.

Bloom stretched as soon as she let Cari go and put her bow and quiver down before sitting down. As soon as she did, Daphne and her parents walked in the Great room. "Bloom!" They exclaimed together as they rushed towards her and embraced her in a big hug. They released her and sat down with her. Daphne looked at her little sister "Bloom what happened? You know it was dangerous for you to go into battle, especially when you have just recovered from Eldus' Keres Curse." "I know Daphne but there was something calling me to the Sacred Forest. I thought it was to fight alongside you guys, but I couldn't find you when I arrived in the forest." Bloom glanced over to Cari who was still sleeping in Sky's arms. "Besides it was a good thing that I did get lost. If I didn't then Cari would still be all alone and lost in the forest." Bloom's family turned to look at what Bloom was looking at with such a protective and loving stare. They were shocked to see Cari in Sky's arms. Daphne looked to the young girl then to Bloom then to Sky then to the young girl again. 'Something about this girl...looks familiar…'

"Bloom where did that girl come from?" Queen Marion asked. "I found her in the forest Mom. She was all alone and lost. I promised her that I would help her find her parents and took her with me. Her name is Calida Cari, Cari for short." "It is odd that such a young girl was alone in the Sacred Forest. We will have to find her parents immediately, they must be worried sick!" The King said. "But before that, how did you find your way out? Were you injured while you were in the forest?" Queen Marion asked

"I'm ok guys, just a little tired. I just kept walking west, I figured that I would find my way out eventually. And I was right, as soon as I got out I found Sky waiting for me... though I think I startled him." Bloom said as she turned to look at her love and giggled. "It wasn't that..." Sky said defensively "Then what was it?" Riven asked "Well, before Bloom came out of the forest there was a very strong gust of wind that came from the Sacred Forest and I heard a voice in the wind. It gave me a foreboding warning..." Sky looked at Bloom with concerned filled eyes. "Sky, what did it say?" She asked him with a serious expression.

Sky took a deep breath before reciting the words the mysterious voice told him "It said: 'It has begun, young King … your skills must be sharp, your love unyielding… be warned the future is now uncertain …protect your family…death and pain still hover near…'. Then the wind died down and all I saw was a bright red light that looked like a large flame, coming out of the forest in front of me. I thought something was going to attack so I got defensive. The flame suddenly became brighter and looked like it transformed into a dragon. It glared at me for a second, slightly nodded its head and took off into the sky heading back into the forest, but not before blowing up another strong gust of wind in my face. When I opened my eyes again I just saw Bloom and I ran to meet her." "What could that mean?" Flora asked "It means that the Sacred Dragon gave you a warning and we must take it very seriously." Queen Marion stated.

"What is the Sacred Dragon?" Aisha asked "Legend has it that deep in the Sacred Forest, still lives Queen Jeanne's partner, the Sacred Dragon. He is the one who originally created the magical universe and decided to pass on some of his magic to selected guardians of Domino. He never appeared to just anyone, legend says that he has only revealed himself to two people since the beginning of the Magical Dimension: Domino's first princess and Queen Jeanne. Since Domino was always a target for evil, because of its strong positive energy, the Sacred Dragon would always protect Domino from any intruders, but there would be a time where the Dragon would need to hibernate and rejuvenate the magic in the magical dimension. So, when it came time for him to hibernate he had to entrust someone to protect his home. He chose a strong and pure heart of the royal family, the first princess of Domino, to be given a small portion of his power and become to be the first fairy guardian of the Sacred Dragon's spark. Even after many generations there has always been at least one royal princess who was born with the spark to protect Domino from evil. But in the many generations there has only been one princess where he formed a partnership with... Jeanne. It was said that the spark she was born with was so strong that she had a hard time controlling it at first, so the Sacred Dragon appeared before her to teach her how to control it. He was so impressed that she was able to keep up with him easily that he formed a deep partnership with her, and battled alongside her. Since Jeanne died it is said that he still watches over her bloodline with great care." Queen Marion finished, she then turned to Sky. "Sky, You are lucky to have seen a glimpse of the Sacred Dragon. But you must not take his words lightly... he warned you for a reason."

"Do you think that he was referring to Eldus and the Trix?" Musa asked "Most likely, that is the only dangerous thing that has unexpectedly changed, and have the potential to make a drastic change to the future..." Daphne responded "There is so much happening at once. We have too many things to worry about now: Eldus, the Sacred Dragon's warning, and even this lost child!" Stella complained dramatically.

Daphne stood up and walked over to Sky who was still holding Cari in his arms. She gently brushed away a few lose strands of hair from Cari's face. "I wonder where she came from..." Cari started to stir and open her eyes when she felt someone touching her hair. "B-Bloom...?" Cari said as she rubbed her eyes sleepily. "Well, good morning there little one." Daphne said. When the young girl saw Daphne she started to cry at the sight of a complete stranger, and not Bloom. "It's ok Cari. You're safe here." With tears streaming down Cari's face she turned to look at Sky. Cari started to calm down as she looked into Sky's eyes. She nodded to Sky "W-where's Bloom?" "Here I am sweetie." Bloom got up and walked over to Cari who jumped out of Sky's arms and ran to Bloom's arms. "Did you have a good rest Cari?" The young girl looked up to Bloom smiled and nodded.

"Hello Cari, my name is Daphne. I am sorry if I scared you before." Cari slightly tensed at the sudden voice and hid behind Bloom's legs before looking to Daphne and also looked around the room to see the large group of people all staring at her. "Cari these are my family and friends. They are the ones I told you about." Bloom proceeded to telling Cari everyone's name. "And this is Sky, my fiancé." the young girl nodded and stayed silent once Bloom was done introducing her to everyone. "Now Cari, shouldn't you introduce yourself?" The young girl hesitated but nodded as she slowly stepped from behind Bloom.

With each hand she grabbed a part of her oversized dirty dress, and gave a small curtsy to the group of people in the room. "H-hello everyone, My name is C-Calida Cari a-and it is very n-nice to m-meet you." Once she finished she quickly ran back behind Bloom to hide again. "O my dear, she is such a sweet and polite young girl. Not to mention she is very attached to you already, how charming." Queen Marion said cheerily "She is a very polite for being so young, perhaps she belongs to an upper-class family? We will have to look into this immediately. I know the feeling of losing a child..." King Oritel said solemnly "Well, before anything I think you all should take a bath and eat something before we do anything else. You all must be exhausted from wandering the forest all day and night. Don't you agree?" Queen Marion said with a kind smile. Everyone nodded and headed to the rooms they were staying in, to clean up.

The King and Queen looked at their oldest daughter and saw that she was in deep thought. "Daphne what is wrong?" "Nothing Mom. I just have a weird feeling coming from Cari." "Do you think that small child is dangerous?" the King asked "I'm not exactly sure... but there is something familiar about her." responded Daphne. then the Queen asked "What should we do then?" "For now we will just keep an eye on young Calida Cari..."

* * *

"Eldus it's been like two days. Shouldn't we be going to retrieve the other magical items that we need by now?" "Now my dear Stormy we must be patient. How do you expect us to retrieve the items if we have no idea where they are located? That is why we are researching the possible whereabouts of them. It takes time." Stormy crossed her arms "I guess you have a point. I still think there is a faster way to do this...I'm tired of being stuck in this library..." "Stormy stop complaining and just find information on either The Gem of Lilith or the Tear of Achlys. The faster we find them the faster we can get our rewards." Icy told her sister. Stormy just crossed her arms and stomped towards the shelf she was working and grabbed another book off the shelves sat back down to skim over the pages.

* * *

"How did you enjoy the bath Cari?" "I-I liked it very much Bloom." "Now you look clean and I can see your pretty face now." Cari smiled shyly "Y-your pretty too Bloom." Bloom patted Cari gently on the head "Thanks sweetie, you saying that makes me feel pretty. Now let's go find some clothes for you to wear, ok?" Bloom held out her hand for the young girl to take. Cari nodded and grabbed Bloom's hand and followed her to her closet.

After they were dressed Cari and Bloom went to the Great Room to find the rest of the Winx and the Specialists there talking amongst themselves. "Hey guys! Were you waiting for us long?" Bloom asked her friends. "Nope not at all." Musa responded. "Oh my gosh! Cari, darling, those clothes seem a few sizes too big for you." Stella commented. Cari blushed in embarrassment and hid behind Bloom. "Well, I couldn't find anything smaller from my closet. We will just have to go shopping later for some clothes." Stella shook her head "Nope this cannot wait. I have the perfect idea for an outfit!" Exclaimed the blonde fairy as she waved the child forward. Cari looked to Bloom unsure of what she should do. Bloom smiled at her "Go ahead Cari, it's ok." the young girl nodded once and stepped from behind Bloom but stayed close. "Alright. Now this will just take a second..."

Stella waved her hand and her bright yellow magic circled Cari, starting from her feet and raised to above her head. When the magic faded everyone smiled and clapped at Cari's new outfit. It was a light purple short-sleeve blouse with a blue image on the front and a darker purple layered skirt that reached a few inches above her knees, with pale purple leggings that covered up to half of her shins, and with simple flats for shoes. Her light red hair was pulled up into two high pig-tails, each one had a thick purple streak in it, and she had bangs fall to the center with purple streaks in it as well.

"Wow, Cari you look absolutely adorable!" Bloom said. Cari looked down and saw her new outfit and spun around with a smile. Once she stopped spinning she walked over to Stella and curtsied "T-thank you Stella for my new outfit. It's perfect, I love it." "You are very welcome Cari. I always aim to please." Stella said with a wink. Cari turned back to Bloom and bounced back over to her. "Hey Stella where did you get the idea for that blue image on Cari's blouse?" "It's her birth mark, you know the one she has on her right shoulder. I saw it earlier and thought that it would look nice on her shirt." 'That's right she did have a birth mark like that on her shoulder... weird it looks exactly like...' "Why do you ask Bloom?" "O no reason, Its because it looks just like my crown..." Stella took a closer look at the image and remembered Bloom's crown "Oh yea that's right. I almost forgot about that, well I guess this way the palace guards won't confuse her as an intruder if she gets separated from us, since they beefed up security because Eldus was in the Sacred Forest... they will just think that she is your charge or something since she is wearing your mark. I'm so clever!" Stella kept praising herself for her quick thinking, while Cari went to ask Bloom something.

"Umm… Bloom do you still have my n-necklace? I would like to put it on." "Sure I do." Bloom reached into her pocket and pulled out a rusted old chain with three charms on it and handed it to the young girl. "Here you go sweetie." "Thanks Bloom." Stella walked over when she saw what Bloom took out. "What do you have there, Cari? Where did you get those?" the young girl held up the old chain. And showed Stella the medium sized charms (a little bigger than the size of a nail polish) that were hanging on it: There was a light blue dragon facing up with dark orange eyes, a dark red flame with a small bright blue flame in the middle, and deep orange/red wolf facing down with light blue eyes. "Well, I don't really remember. But I know that they are important treasures and I am supposed to keep them close to me at all times, for protection... I think..." "Hmm... Don't you think that chain will fall apart soon?... you might lose your little treasures... here I have an idea... can I fix them up for you?" Cari nodded and gave Stella her necklace.

Stella waved her fingers and her magic covered the charms and the old chain was replaced by a dark blue belt. Once her magic faded away they saw that the charms were hanging delicately off the belt a few inches away from each other. Stella then turned to Cari and fastened the belt slightly horizontally from her waist. "There perfect." Stella said as soon as she stepped back and admired her handiwork. "W-wow Stella. Thank you very much, it really is perfect!" "Anytime darling!"

Bloom walked over to Cari "Hey sweetie I almost forgot. You had this in the pocket of your old dress." Bloom handed the young girl a folded piece of paper. Cari took it with both hands, hesitant to unfold it. "I didn't read it or anything I just didn't want it to get washed with your dress. In case it was something important." "T-thanks Bloom..." Cari slowly started to unfold the piece of paper and read the words on the page. The young girl whispered "Bloom, I remember..."

Suddenly the doors to the great Room opened and the King and Queen entered followed by Daphne. Bloom walked over to her family and gave them a big hug in greeting. "How are you feeling, my dear?" "I'm fine Mom. That bath did wonders, I feel great." Bloom looked at her big sister. "Daphne what's wrong you look like you have something to tell us." Daphne nodded "I do Bloom. With Tecna's help I finally figured out what Eldus took from the Secret Vault." Everyone in the room paused "He stole the Diamond of Isole. It is one of the most dangerous items in existence. It was sent to Obsidian because it couldn't be destroyed, but since Obsidian was destroyed it ended up here when Domino was freed." "What makes this Diamond of Isole so dangerous anyway?" Musa asked "Well, by itself it can collect the natural energy from any cold weather. So from icy rain to blizzards and it amplifies the energy it absorbs it to make terrible natural winter disasters." "Well, that just sounds like a wonderful diamond now doesn't it?" Stella said sarcastically

"What do you think that Eldus and the Trix want to use it for?" Aisha asked "I'm not exactly sure. It's not like Eldus can't make disasters in his own way." responded Daphne "Wait, what would happen if someone tries to use the Diamond of Isole?" Bloom asked "Well, history says that if someone harnesses the diamond's power then they can collect as much natural magic from cold climates and use it anywhere else on command, until the energy runs out that is." "What are you thinking, Bloom" Sky asked as he saw his fiancé deep in thought "Imagine if a witch of Ice used the Diamond of Isole. She would be twice as strong as she is now, and it would be worse if Eldus provides additional dark energy to the diamond..."

Everyone gasped as they realized what Bloom was getting at. "If they were finding items to amplify Icy's powers then it will only be logical for them to look for other magical items to amplify Darcy and Stormy's powers as well." Tecna stated "Are there other magical items that have the similar attributes as the Diamond of Isole?" Flora asked "There are many different kinds of dark magical items in the universe... I will have to do a little research to find the correct items that would be best suited for Darcy and Stormy to be sure..." "And I'll help you" Thoren said as he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Thanks Thoren." Daphne said as she gave him a kiss. "We should all help. The faster we find the answers the faster we can stop Eldus and seal him away again." Bloom commented. She then felt a small hand grab hers, she looked down to see Cari looking up at her. "Oo that's right. I promised that I would help you find your parents. And I never break my promises, but I should help my friends find the answers we need to find Eldus and the Trix. Do you mind waiting a little longer?" Bloom asked Cari when she knelt down to her eye level. Cari shook her head "That's not important right now Bloom, but there is something that I r-remembered." "What did you remember Cari? Do you remember where you live?" Sky asked. Cari shook her head as she held the piece of paper close to her chest "No, I remembered an important message that I needed to give to you as soon as possible..."

* * *

After another long day of researching in Darkar's library, Eldus started to get frustrated with no progress 'Hmm... Stormy does have a point... This way is going to take longer than planned. All we have found is what the items can do, but not where they are located...' He thought as he threw the book he was reading aside. "We need to think like a good little fairy... where would I keep the Gem of Lilith and the Tear of Achlys?" He started to pace the room while thinking out-loud. "It would have to be someplace where they would not be exposed to their elements, even accidently." "So what? They will be somewhere that is the opposite of their power?" pondered Darcy out loud. Eldus stopped mid-pace "Brilliant my dear Darcy. That's exactly what they would do... now we need to think of possible places." "I don't get it..." Stormy said as she scratched her head in confusion. 'Sigh' Darcy rolled her eyes as she started to explain to Stormy "For example the 'Gem of Lilith' directly means the 'Gem of the Storm Goddess', while the 'Tear of Achlys' means the 'Tear of Mist and Darkness'. So what are those opposites?"

Stormy pondered that for a moment. "Well the opposite of a storm, will be calm and nice weather right? And the opposite of darkness and mist would be light and dry." "Good job my dear Stormy... now where in the magical universe are planets that are strong in those attributes?" "Well the planet of light would be Solaria. But the only place where I can think of that is calm and nice would be 'Lightrock Monastery' but I hope there's another place. The place still gives me the chills just thinking about it." "What happened there?" asked Eldus out of curiosity in seeing the Trix shiver at the name of the monastery. "When we first battled Bloom they sent us there when we were captured. It was a horrible place where they forced you to be happy and relaxed all the time. They made us enjoy the weather and scenery while meditating. It was horrible." Stormy answered as she wrapped her arms around herself when she got Goosebumps at the thought of going back to that place again.

"Well we are going to have to check that place out...but we can do that last, first let's try retrieving the Tear of Achlys first." The Trix gave an evil grin and nodded. "Time to pay a visit to Stella's parents and do some damage..."


	18. Chapter 17: Cari's Message

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Sorry, it has taken me a bit longer to post this next chapter, a lot has been going on. I also wanted to let you guys know that it will be harder for me to post for a while. Tax Season is coming and since I prepare taxes I'm going to be very busy until April. So I hope that you won't be to upset with me for not posting as often, I will do my best to post at least twice a month. _

_Anyway I would really appreciate any feedback or critics on my story. Thanks._

_A special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! _

_Well, please ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 17  
****Cari's Message**

Cari shook her head as she held the piece of paper close to her chest "No, I remembered an important message that I needed to give to you as soon as possible..."

"What do you mean Cari?" Bloom asked as she knelt down to face the young girl. "I remembered why I was in the forest... I was looking for you... to give you a message..." "What made you remember now?" Bloom asked "If you had one job, how did you forget it in the first place?" Riven asked. The young girl looked down shyly "I-I fell down and hit my h-head..." Cari said as she rubbed the back of her head. "It must have been a pretty bad fall if it resulted in amnesia. We should have Meditrina take a look at your head, just in case." Musa commented. "That's a good idea. I don't want it to be worse than it looks." Bloom said with concerned filled eyes. Cari just nodded in agreement before continuing.

"Bloom I remembered the message now because before I fell I wrote down some important notes that I needed to remember... on this piece of paper... when I read it I remembered the important message that I had to tell you..." "Ok, what was the message sweetie?" Cari took a deep breath and recited the message that she was entrusted with:

"Sacred Dragon Flame Guardian, you have lost a part of yourself. You must spark that part anew and awaken your true potential, and your heart is the key. In the past you forced your way through your trials, this time you must flourish properly without force. Remember your destiny, young guardian and good luck."

"What does that all mean? What part of Bloom are you talking about?" Stella asked the young girl as she flinched at the question "I don't know... I was just told the message and that Bloom needed it as soon as possible..." Cari said as she tried to hide her face from the group of stares. "Who gave you this message Cari?" Bloom asked softly. The young girl started to tear from being under pressure of so many questions that she didn't know the answers to. "I-I'm s-sorry Bloom... but I d-don't r-remember... don't be m-mad..." "Aww sweetie, come here..." Cari stepped closer to Bloom and Bloom gave her a loving hug "...I'm not mad. There is no reason to be mad at you. We are just voicing some questions out loud, if you don't know its ok we understand. Ok?" "Ok Bloom."

"What do you think that all means?" "I don't know Sky, but I think the message might have come from Queen Jeanne..." "What brought you to that conclusion, Bloom?" Tecna asked "Because of how the message was addressed... the only other person I know to have called me 'Sacred Dragon Flame Guardian' was Queen Jeanne, when she came to talk to me in my vision." "If that was the case why didn't she come to you in another vision? Why did she need Cari to tell you the message?" Musa asked

"I don't know..." Bloom said as she patted the young girl's head while still in her arms "maybe there is a piece we are missing... we just need to think about this carefully..." Everyone nodded and began to carefully think of the message that Cari just told them. "Here maybe visual aid will help..." Tecna said as she displayed the words from her phone projector large enough for everyone to see. "Wow good idea Tecna!" Aisha exclaimed. "Yea really good idea. I had already forgotten some of the words already." Stella said as she read the displayed words.

Bloom stood up and stepped closer while carrying Cari in her arms and read the words. 'The clues are in here somewhere...now how can we find it?' "Hey Tecna do you think that you can separate each sentence in its own line?" "Sure Bloom no problem." Tecna separated each line in the paragraph. "Why do you want it that way Bloom?" Flora asked as they watched Tecna separate the paragraph. "Because it seems that at least the second and last sentences are not related to each other… so maybe if we look at each sentence separately it might make more sense…" Tecna finished separating the paragraph and everyone read the message anew:

'Sacred Dragon Flame Guardian, you have lost a part of yourself.  
You must spark that part anew and awaken your true potential, and your heart is the key.  
In the past you forced your way through your trials, this time you must flourish properly without force.  
Remember your destiny, young guardian and good luck.'

"It seems that each line refers to a different thing now." Roy commented "Yea, it's like there is more than one message in here." Aisha added. Bloom nodded "Yea so let's try looking at it one line at a time." "It could be referring to you losing your magic, Bloom." Sky commented "Your right Sky... so then the second line might be telling me that there is a possibility to get them back...but I don't get everything that it is saying... what true potential? And how can my heart spark my powers?" "Well, a fairy's power is always linked to her emotions, which comes from your heart. The more you feel towards something, the more your powers are affected both negatively and positively." Queen Marion said to the group. "So maybe you will have to be under great emotional stress in to get your powers back" Flora noted. "Maybe…" 'But the last time I felt under that kind of stress was when Sky's life was in danger and I was the only one able to save him…' Bloom glanced next to her to look at Sky while he was reading the message '…I don't want to go through that again…' Bloom hugged Cari a bit closer "Are you ok Bloom?" Bloom looked down to see beautiful and concerned deep blue eyes looking up at her and slowly nodded "Yea, I'm ok sweetie."

Everyone kept thinking about the riddle before them and missed the inner turmoil that Bloom was having. "What do you think the third sentence means?" Bloom looked up and reread the sentence that Stella mentioned "It could be talking about how I am supposed to fight Eldus…" "What do you mean Bloom?" "Well, the major trials I can think of dealing with, was when we would deal with the biggest threats to the magical dimension. You know like: Valtor, Darkar, the Wizards of the Dark Circle, Tritannus, the Trix... I know I always forced myself and my powers to get stronger in order to defeat them... it could mean that in order to defeat Eldus the key isn't force but wit or something like that..."

"You might be on to something Bloom... but then defeating Eldus might be harder to beat if we can't use force." "Sky is right. How will we know what needs to be used if what you say it's true. He is a ruthless villain who doesn't care who he hurts or kills, and he seems to enjoy it. I doubt that love and compassion will stop his evil rampage." Riven said as he crossed his arms. "Then what do you propose Riven?" Stella asked "I say we play it by ear... if it is obvious that power and force does not work, which I am sure will, then we can try the whole sweet talking thing." Riven said with a smirk. Everyone rolled their eyes at him and shrugged.

Bloom patted Cari on the head as she said "Well, we will just see how things go. Riven does have a point it doesn't make much sense to stop someone like Eldus without force. Only time will explain the true meaning of this message..."

* * *

"Time to pay a visit to Stella's parents and do some damage..." Eldus said as he raised his left arm and motioned for the Trix to lead the way "After you ladies..." he said with a smile. The Trix stepped forward with an evil grin as they opened the portal to take them to Solaria and floated through.

As soon as Eldus floated through the portal behind him, he looked around and cupped his left hand above his eyebrows to shield his eyes from the blinding light 'oh my. It's so bright on this planet... there should be a way to fix that...when I rule the universe…' With his hand stilled cupped above his eyes he saw that they were about 50 feet above the ground and a few miles away from the palace 'Clever girls... this way we are not detected immediately.' he thought with a smile.

"So Eldus where should we start?" Icy asked as she floated in front of him. "Well, my dear we need to think of where they would place the Tear of Achlys." "Well, since it is an item of Darkness and this is the planet of light there would be no fear of it activating by accident... so it might be displayed in their museum, but if they are cautious then it might be hiding somewhere in the palace..." Darcy said "Good point my dear Darcy... since we are unsure of the location let's hit both places at once."

"Why? Won't it be better if we just go to one place and if it's not there then just hit the next?" "Well, my pretty Stormy if we only hit one location at a time and the first location we hit does not have the Tear of Achlys, then that location will alert the other and possibly take the Tear of Achlys off the planet before we can get to it. Making it harder or near impossible for us to find it afterwards. If we hit both locations at once then one of us is bound to find it and take it." "I guess your right"

"Now who gets to go where?" Icy asked with a mischievous smile. "Where would you girls like to go?" "I want to go to the palace. It's only proper that we pay our respects to Stella's parents" Icy said with an evil look that was mirrored on the faces of her sisters "Very well then, I shall go to the museum." Eldus stated "You don't want one of us to go with you Eldus?" Darcy asked "Don't worry about me, my dear. I can take care of myself, and I wouldn't want one of you to miss out on the fun that your sisters will experience." The sisters smiled and nodded "Ok then let's get started." The Trix started to fly away from Eldus before they were stopped "Ladies!" They turned to look at Eldus "I don't know where to locate the museum. Can you please show me the way?" The Trix nodded and started to lead Eldus to where the museum was.

After a few minutes of flying into the city under a concealment spell they arrived at the museum. "Here you go Eldus, Solaria's museum." Darcy said as soon as they were above the building "Thank you very much my dears. How long do you think it will take you to arrive at the palace?" "It will probably take 10 minutes if we go fast." Darcy said "Then we will attack both places in exactly 30 minutes." "Why not in 15 minutes?" Asked Stormy "Because my dear all four of us will need to locate the Tear of Achlys or at least have an idea of where it could be, before we attack or else we will lose it. If say, the palace does not have the tear, it will give me enough time to locate it here. And you would be a good distraction for me, after all you will be attacking the royal family at the palace, right?" The Trix smiled and nodded "Well, even if the Tear is not at the palace we can always just have some good old evil fun with Stella's family." Icy said as she thought about how much fun she was going to have.

"Good, now that we agree on the plan let us begin, shall we?" The Trix nodded and flew off towards the Palace of Solaria.

* * *

The Winx and the Specialists were relaxing in the Great Room and listening to Bloom's and Cari's story about their days in the Sacred Forest. "...That's when I woke up and saw a glowing path that was leading us out of the forest. Since Cari was sleeping so deeply I just carried her on my back and followed the path. I'm pretty sure I walked for a couple of hours, but it didn't feel like that because the path was so pretty and soft. It was actually fun to walk through, but I loved it more when it led me to Sky. Though he was in attack mode when I finally saw him." Bloom giggled when she glanced at Sky. Sky just shrugged and wrapped his arm around his fiancé's shoulders.

Suddenly Stella's phone started to ring. Everyone turned to her and saw her look at the caller ID before she answered the phone call. A pinkish-orange haired, green eyed girl appeared on the phone's hologram. "Hello, Nova. What's up? Got some juicy news to tell me?" "Stella! You must come home, NOW! The Trix are in the palace and I overheard them say they were looking for King Radius and some Tear, before they phased through the wall towards the large dining room." Stella dropped her phone in shock "The Trix are after my dad. I need to go home" Flora and Bloom rushed toward Stella. Flora tried to calm the blonde fairy down while Bloom picked up the phone. "Nova have you told the royal guards?" Nova shook her head "No, I just saw the Trix a few seconds ago and I know I had to call Stella first because I know that you guys have a better chance to defeat them. I'm trying to track them now to make sure they don't get near the King." "Don't get too close to them Nova. They won't hesitate to hurt you." "I know Bloom I will be careful." "Good we are on our way." Nova nodded and hung up.

Bloom turned to her best friend "Bloom, they're after my dad... I need to go home... I need to stop them... I need to save my dad..." Bloom placed her hands on Stella's shoulders "I know Stella, we will all go. Your dad will be fine, but you need to calm down or you will get hurt..." Stella nodded and took a deep breath

"No, Bloom. I don't think you should go." She turned to face her fiancé "I know you are worried about me Sky, but I need to be there for Stella, powers or no." Bloom saw that there was still concern in Sky's eyes "I promise that I will stay out of sight, I will just keeping an eye from the background, ok? I just want to be there, for Stella." Sky glanced at Stella who had calmed down some after Bloom talked to her. Sky looked deep into Bloom's eyes and hesitated before nodding his agreement with her terms. "You will not show yourself to the Trix no matter what. Agreed?" Bloom smiled "AGREED!" Bloom turned to her friends. "Ok girls transform! We need to go and protect King Radius!" The girls nodded before exclaiming "WINX TRANSFORM!"

Once their transformations were complete Stella stepped forward and began to motion to open the portal before Tecna stopped her. "Wait, Stella." "What's wrong Tecna?" "If we teleport directly into your palace the Trix might be alerted to us. It will take a sudden large surge of your power to transport all 12 of us, so that might alert your guards since it is a sudden breach in the palace barrier. Resulting in alerting the Trix, possibly making them act faster." "Then how do we get there without scaring them into attacking?" Stella asked with little patience. Tecna took a moment to do some calculations "I have an idea, but there is a catch." "What are you thinking, Tecna?" Aisha asked "There is always a fluctuation in a barrier during a shift change. We just need to know when that is and we can enter better then without alerting anyone, and if I combine my powers with Stella's I can hide your power surge better."

Stella looked at the clock "The next shift change is in less than two minutes." Tecna nodded and put a timer on a projection for all to see and saw it could down from one minute and 25 seconds. "Ok, now here is the catch. We will only be able to keep the portal open for no more than 15 seconds anymore and the barrier will alert the guard. With my powers I will program the portal to close within that time limit. By that time everyone needs to run through the portal within that time in order to make it. If not, you will just have to wait for us to return." "That's a short amount of time Tecna. Will you guys be able to make the portal bigger so more than one person can pass at a time?" Timmy asked "Yes, we can make it so two people can run through at the same time." "Ok that could work."

"30 seconds left guys!" Stella said. Tecna walked over to Stella and they both started to charge up their powers waiting for the moment that the clock timed to zero. Everyone else paired up right behind them ready to run through the portal after Tecna and Stella. The boys did a double check to make sure they had all their weapons. Bloom picked up her bow and quiver and quickly walked over to Cari. "Bloom I want to go with you." Bloom shook her head and patted Cari on the head. "You be a good girl for my family, ok sweetie? I will be back soon." Cari just quickly gave Bloom a hug and nodded with a small smile. Bloom walked back to end of the line just as soon as the timer counted down to zero.

In that moment, Tecna and Stella opened the portal and ran through it as fast as they could. A new timer appeared as soon as the portal opened and it began the countdown of the 15 seconds. Stella and Tecna were closely followed by: Brandon and Timmy, Flora and Helia, Aisha and Roy, Musa and Riven, then Bloom and Sky. As soon as Bloom and Sky started to run with only 5 seconds on the clock, Cari dashed after them.

As soon as Bloom and Sky made it through they turned around to see Cari running through the portal at her top speed and crashed into Bloom's legs. "Cari! What are you doing? I told you that you had to stay behind." "But Bloom I wanted to be with you." Bloom sighed "Well, there is nothing we can do now." Tecna said "Fine..." Bloom tuned back to face the young girl "but Cari you need to promise me that you will stay behind me and stay hidden no matter what, ok?" "Ok, Bloom."

"Alright, we are wasting time! We need to go find my father!" Bloom stood up and held onto Cari's tiny hand "Ok lead the way Stella."

* * *

"Icy do you know where you are going?" "I'm pretty sure that the throne room was this way." "That's what you said forever ago, and we are still going in circles." "Stormy is right. We only have about five minutes left before we have to attack, and from what we have gathered so far, the Tear is most likely not here. Since they don't really have a vault or anything like that here anyway." "So that gives us about 5 minutes to find King Radius and damage him. Imagine how that pretty little sun fairy will feel if we hurt her daddy...she won't leave his side leaving her and the rest of the Winx defenseless." "I like the sound of that." Darcy said with an evil grin and saw that Stormy was just as happy "Yea, let's hurry up and find him. We don't have much time left before we have to start distracting this place." Darcy and Stormy nodded as they continued floating down the hall, unaware they were being followed.

* * *

'Where is Stella? She should be here by now. They are getting closer and closer to the throne room. Maybe I should call her, but I don't want to lose sight of the Trix. I'll just send a text.' Nova pulled out her cell phone and started to send a text to the Princess of Solaria. 'Stella hurry up I don't know what to do. I can't face the Trix on my own.'

Nova sent the text and continued to follow the Trix without them knowing, as they got closer and closer to the throne room. Where King Radius was in a meeting.

* * *

"Icy times up. We need to start making a mess in 30 seconds." 'Sigh' "Fine Darcy, we will burst through the room at the end of this hallway and just start there. Get ready sisters." the Trix sped up and burst through the large double doors. They entered and started to charge up their powers as they took a quick look around the large room they were in.

"What is the meaning of this intrusion!?" King Radius stood up from this throne and took a better look at the intruders "The Trix?! You are not welcome in my palace. GUARDS!" "Well, well looks like we have found what we have been looking for. How lucky for us" The Trix gave an evil grin "Your guards won't save you from us." Darcy said as she shot an attack at the guards charging at them. A couple of guards positioned themselves defensively in front of their king as the Trix floated closer and closer to them. "What do you want Trix?" "We want to mess with your princess." "You leave my Stella alone!" "No can do your highness... we need the Winx out of the way we already took care of Bloom, now we will take care of the rest of them, and disposing of Stella is the first step." The Trix laughed manically as they saw the look of terror on King Radius' face.

It took the King a short moment to regain his composure again 'How were they able to destroy Bloom? She is one of the most powerful fairies in existence... no it cannot be true...' "What you say cannot be true. Besides my little girl is stronger then you witches." The Trix glared at King with strong hatred after he said that. "She won't be after we break her beloved daddy!" Darcy remarked as she and Stormy threw attacks at the last two remaining guards leaving King Radius open for an attack. "Farewell your majesty!" The Trix each threw a strong attack at the King of Solaria. "No!" The King exclaimed as he saw his impending doom.

"DADDY!... SOLAR HALO!" "What? Stella? What are you doing here?" Stormy remarked when the Sun fairy managed to blocked their attacks. "Of course I would be here to protect my father you rotten witches!" "The better question is what you three are doing here!" Aisha asked when she and the rest of the Winx and Specialists entered the throne room. "Oo no reason just in the area and wanted to pay our respects to the King is all." Darcy said sarcastically. Her sisters just nodded while giggling.

"I don't know why you guys are after my dad but I won't let you get away with it!" Stella exclaimed as she threw her Total Eclipse at the Trix. Icy managed to dodge it but Darcy and Stormy were sent flying across the room. Icy looked back to see that the Specialists had surrounded her sisters when they landed hard on the ground "hmm...looks like you have gotten a tad stronger haven't you sun fairy." Icy turned to look at Stella again and noticed that the rest of the Winx had joined her. "But that won't matter for long and having your friends with you won't save you from the inevitable." Icy glanced a look towards the King who was still standing behind Stella. Stella looked back at her father and gave him a smile "Don't worry daddy I will protect you." "I know you will Stella I'm not worried."

Stella nodded "Find somewhere to hid daddy, when you get a chance...Ok girls let's get rid of these unwanted intruders. Starting with this ice Queen." The Winx nodded as they held hands "Winx Convergence!" "Icicle Rampage!" Icy exclaimed as she tried to hold off the attack. Even using all her powers she was not strong enough to do it on her own and was sent flying back but still away from her sisters. "Ow that hurt. Stupid fairies." She looked toward her sisters and saw they were having just as much trouble as she was with the Specialists. 'I'm sure Eldus has had enough time to get the Tear...' "Sisters! It's time to give them our parting gift!" Darcy and Stormy threw attacks at the Specialists before looking at each other and nodding with a smile. "Chaotic Confusion." The Specialists became distracted long enough for Darcy and Stormy to regroup with Icy in the middle of the throne room.

"Time to end this party sisters. You know what to do." Darcy and Stormy nodded and started to charge their powers for their final attacks. "Icicle Shredder!" A giant spiked ice ball began forming above the Trix. "Dark Spell!" Darcy's attack surrounded Icy's Icicle Shredder and helped it grow with a dark ominous glow surrounding each spike. "Dark Tornado!" with the large darkened Icicle Shredder in the eye of the tornado Stormy's Dark Tornado started to draw everyone in the room closer to the center of the room. Icy looked around the room trying to find the King. She found him trying to leave through the same side door that the Winx entered through. "There's the King trying to make his escape. Ready sisters?" Darcy opened a portal right behind them "Ready!" "Good, here we go." "DARK ICICLE TORNADO!" The Trix exclaimed as the darkened spikes were released at the Winx and the Specialists that were being sucked into the winds of the tornado. "Winx shields!" Aisha exclaimed as she sent a shield to protect Roy and herself. Each Winx sent a barrier or shield to protect their loves before erecting one to protect themselves. But it seemed that most of the spikes were aimed to the back of the room.

Stella looked back at where the spikes were being aimed and saw her father starting to be dragged into the tornado. "DADDY!" Stella turned around and tried to get to him but the winds of the tornado were too strong for her to get to him fast enough. Everyone looked in horror as the spikes got closer and closer to King Radius.

Suddenly they see both Sky and Cari come out of nowhere and push King Radius clear out of the way of the oncoming spikes. They see Sky crouch down to Cari right after they pushed the King to safety in an attempt to protect her from the oncoming attack, with only seconds before the spikes made contact, suddenly everyone sees Bloom run towards them "SKY! CARI! LOOK OUT!" Bloom jumps in front of Sky and Cari and takes a direct hit from the Dark Icicle Tornado as she shielded them. "BLOOM!"


	19. Chapter 18: Self- Sacrifice

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I know I am as shocked as you are that I was able to post this story sooner than planned. Well, that's mainly because I had a conference this week that I had to attend, and since it was a 3 hr flight I was able to write the whole flight. So I was able to finish this chapter quickly YAY! I would've had it up sooner but it was hard to find the time to proofread it properly. _

_Anyway I would really appreciate any feedback or critics on my story. Thanks!_

_A special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You guys make me smile like crazy when I read your comments! XD _

_Well, please ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 18  
****Self- Sacrifice **

"Ok lead the way Stella." Stella nodded and flew down the hall with the rest of them hot on her trail. "Judging by the time, my dad will be in only two places: the throne room or his bedroom. Let's try the throne room first since it is closer." Everyone nodded in agreement and kept running or flying after the Sun fairy.

As they were rushing down the halls they passed many guards who were always about to stop them but would always stop short when Stella would yell at them: "Move out of the way!" They would jump out of the way while responding "Yes, Princess!"

"Shouldn't you ask them where your father is? You know just to be sure?" Musa asked when they had passed the fourth pair of guards. Stella just shook her head "That'll take too long. They would just contact their superiors and they might take a while to answer especially if they are already fighting the Trix." "How far away are we from the throne room?" Bloom asked "It's in the west wing, and right now we are still in the east wing. So at this pace we are about a minute away."

After a few seconds of silent travel Stella's phone suddenly started to alert her of a received message. While still flying down the halls Stella took her phone out and read the message. Stella gasped and started to go faster "We need to go faster guys. Nova just texted me, saying that the Trix are now headed to the throne room, and they are only seconds away from it." "Well, maybe King Radius isn't in the Throne room." Helia said hopefully. Stella shook her head "No, he's in there. Nova also said that he had a meeting with her father at this time and it's still going on. That's why we need to go faster."

The Specialists looked at each other and nodded "You girls go on ahead of us we will be right behind you!" Brandon told the Winx while still running as fast as they could. The Winx looked back and realized that there was no way for the Specialists, Bloom and Cari to keep up with their fast flying. Stella was conflicted on what to do, she wanted to get to her father as fast as she could but she knew that they were stronger as a team and had a better chance to defeat the Trix together then separate, especially without Bloom's powers.

"I have an idea!" Aisha exclaimed as she came to a stop. Everyone stopped right along with her and watched as she used her morphix powers to make six hover bikes in front of each specialist. She took a step back and smiled at her handiwork and nodded "Now you guys can keep up easily." She said with a wink. The boys nodded while they smiled and jumped up on their bikes. Sky jumped up on his bike, which was slightly longer than the others so it was able to sit three better, and motioned for Bloom and Cari to join him. Bloom stepped forward and placed Cari behind Sky and then she sat behind her. "Now safety first." Aisha said as she used her powers to give everyone a helmet.

"Alright, full speed ahead!" Stella exclaimed as she continued to lead the way down the hall to the throne room at top speed. She looked back and was relieved that the hover bikes were easily keeping up with the Winx's wings.

After a few moments Stella saw that they were really close to the throne room. What stopped her from going any closer was that she saw Nova tending to her unconscious father. "Nova! Are you alright?" Stella asked as she landed next to her friend. Nova nodded "Yea, I'm ok and so is my dad. He just had the wind knocked out of him. But you need to hurry Stella. The Trix are already in there and they are seriously after King Radius. They already blew away most of his royal guard!"

Stella abruptly stood up "No, I won't let them get away with this!" She turned to look at her friends "Let's go!" They nodded in agreement as the Specialists got off their bikes, pulled out their weapons and prepared to face the Trix. Stella nodded and flew as fast as she could through the large double doors that lead to the Throne room.

* * *

"Bloom you need to always stay by my side and not be seen. And Cari you should stay here with Nova, ok?" "Ok, Sky. I promise I will not be seen by the Trix." Bloom responded, but Cari shook her head "No, I want to stay with you two." Sky looked at the small girl's determined face 'Sigh... she's just like Bloom when she has made up her mind I see...' Sky nodded and he then he pulled out his sword and ran up to the double doors, with Bloom and Cari close behind. As soon as they got to the door they peered inside to see Stella and the Winx protecting King Radius from Icy while the Specialists were surrounding Darcy and Stormy. 'Way to go guys! They are weaker when they are separated' Bloom thought with pride. "Looks like we have the advantage so far." Sky noted. The three snuck into the room unnoticed as they saw as their friends start to gain the upper hand on the separated Trix.

Suddenly, the Trix decided to turn the tides. It started when Darcy managed to confuse the Specialists with her Chaotic Confusion attack. They slipped away from the Specialists and flew over to Icy who was already in the middle of the throne room. "What do you think they are up to Sky?" "I'm not sure Bloom, but I have a bad feeling about it." They watched in horror as they saw Icy start to make her Icicle Shredder.

Without turning to face Sky, Bloom whispered so Cari wouldn't hear "Sky, there will be nowhere to run if we stay here in this enclosed space. I doubt even Icy will be able to control that attack here. The only place that would seem safe enough would be behind those columns behind the throne..." "Bloom what's happening now? What is that scary girl doing?" Cari asked as she slightly tugged on the edge of Bloom's shirt while pointing towards the Trix. Bloom and Sky took a short moment to look at Cari before they looked up to see what the young girl was pointing to. They were shocked to see that Darcy was adding another spell to Icy's Icicle Shredder. They saw the spiked ball get larger and turn ominous black. Bloom and Sky looked down at Cari's calm face and turned to look at each other before nodding. "Time to get out of here."

Before they had a chance to do anything a strong wind suddenly picked up and slowly started to pull them towards the tornado that Stormy conjured up. Bloom looked around to her friends and saw that they were already having trouble with this combined attack. 'Looks like I'm going to have to use Daphne's gift sooner than I wanted.' Bloom stood up and pulled out a pure white arrow with a light blue glowing arrow head out of her quiver.

Sky stood up and placed a hand on his fiancé's shoulder. "Bloom what are you doing? You know that a single arrow can't do anything against a tornado and dark ice spikes." Bloom looked into her love's eyes "Just trust me Sky. And you and Cari stay behind me. This is a special arrow and if it works everything behind it will be protected and once the arrow makes contact with the attack we will be safe." Sky hesitated for a split second but nodded "I don't really get it, but I trust you Bloom." Sky then got behind his love and shielded Cari in an embrace, while Bloom readied her bow and took aim at the center of the tornado.

Sky looked up as soon as he heard the bow string release, and at the same time he heard the Icicle Shredder explode. In that moment everything looked as if time had slowed down. Sky saw Bloom's arrow cut through all the dark ice spikes that were in its way, as it got closer and closer to its target. He saw more and more spikes come out of the tornado, it seemed never ending. But he noticed something that no one else seemed to have noticed yet, a large group of spikes were aiming for someone in particular. Sky turned to look in the direction that they were headed and saw they were aiming for King Radius who was running just past the throne towards the door they had entered through. Without thinking he let Cari go and sprinted to the King as fast as he could. Even while he was running he noticed that everyone else just realized what was happening, but could not do anything to help in that moment. But what surprised him was that he felt someone running alongside him.

As soon as he reached the King he pushed him with all his might. He pushed King Radius behind the columns that Bloom mentioned, but he was shocked to see a pair of tiny hands push the King with him. Sky looked down to see little Cari by his side with a look of pure determination and when the King was safe her expression changed to happiness. "What! Cari?!" He immediately bent down with the intention of throwing the little girl to be safe with the King. But when he looked up he saw that he was out of time, so instead he tried to cover Cari. 'I will protect you!'

As soon as he was about to turn his back to the spikes he heard Bloom cry out his name. 'I'm sorry Bloom.' When he glanced up expecting to see spikes Sky was surprised to see his beloved shielding them with her body. Sky's vision started to spin as he saw Bloom's fire red hair blowing in the wind as he heard everyone shout out Bloom's name and as he heard Bloom's arrow make contact with the Black Icicle Tornado's core.

* * *

"Ok, sisters when I release this attack in this enclosed space I won't be able to control it very well. So we will need to get out of here fast." "Ok Icy, the portal is ready to go." "Eldus better have found that Tear already or he's on his own." Icy just rolled her eyes at Stormy.

"Ok, get ready!" Darcy and Stormy nodded. With that Icy released her spell and thousands of spikes exploded towards everyone in the room, with some concentrated towards King Radius. The Trix smiled as they took a few seconds to admire their handiwork as they started to back up through the portal. They laughed when they saw the Winx and the Specialists being sucked towards the tornado and having trouble holding off the spikes even with their barriers and shields up.

Suddenly a spike barely missed Stormy's shoulder. "Hey! Icy! That was too close!" Icy just shrugged "I told you it will be hard to control this large spell in this tight space, if you have a problem then let's go before we get hit." The two nodded at Icy and started to turn around towards the portal when they saw a large group of spikes getting closer to King Radius. "Yes! Looks like we accomplished what we came to do!" exclaimed Stormy excitedly. But before her sister could respond they saw a bunch of spikes coming straight towards them. "Time to go!" Darcy yelled as she quickly flew through the portal. The other two were right behind her, with Stormy slightly more ahead of Icy, as they gave a quick glance back at the room. To their dismay they saw Sky and some small girl push King Radius to safety. "Dam we missed, but at least Sky can go be with his Bloom again." Stormy and Icy laughed as the portal started to close behind Icy. But before the portal was fully closed they heard the Winx screaming. The last thing Icy heard was "BLO-"

Once the Trix were back at Darkar's castle Icy looked at her sisters. "Did you two hear that?" "Hear what?" Stormy asked. Icy looked at Darcy who just shrugged in response. "I guess it was nothing..." Icy told her sisters as she turned around to think. 'maybe I was just imagining things... but I could've sworn the Winx were about to scream 'Bloom''

A few moments later a portal opened up and they saw Eldus casually step through. "Well, hello ladies how did you three fair? Did you have fun?" The Trix smiled "Yup, we didn't get a chance to off the King but we got someone even better! Prince Sky took the attack for the King!" Eldus smiled "Well, that's even better in my book. Now his body is broken to match his heart. How amusing." The four of them laughed together at that thought

Once they finished laughing Darcy looked down at Eldus' hand and saw that he held the Tear of Achlys. "It seems that you had just as much fun as we did Eldus." He raised his hand and opened his fist to reveal the Tear. "I most certainly did." Eldus said with a sly smile.

Icy stepped forward to have a closer look at the Tear of Achlys, and smiled "Two down one to go. When can we go pick up the last gem?" "We will need to find out its location first my dear Icy." "Ugh so does that mean we have to back to the library again?" Stormy asked in a whine. Eldus nodded with a smile "Unless you have a better idea of how to find the Gem of Lilith that is." Darcy took a step forward with a grin "I think I know of a faster way to find it..."

* * *

As soon as the spikes hit Bloom there were two exploding, blinding lights. Coming from different locations. One was coming from the center of the tornado, but it was not as bright as the second light. As soon as that light faded the tornado and the spikes began to disappear with it. Once the tornado disappeared with the dark icicle core and spikes everyone turned their attention to the brighter light that was coming from where Bloom was hit. "Bloom?" Sky asked as he tried to reach out towards the light, but stopped when he felt little Cari start to whimper. He was so worried that his beloved was taken from him once again that he froze, but would this time be permanent?

"Sky what's going on?" Aisha asked as she and Roy ran over to Sky and Cari. "I don't know. I just remember Bloom jumping in and taking the direct hit from the dark spikes." Sky said as he held Cari close.

Suddenly, the bright white light started to turn into a bright red fire. Everyone took a step back, not knowing what to expect. When the light started to expand and get stronger Aisha grew concerned "Everyone Shields up!" Aisha stood in front of Roy, Sky and Cari and put up her morphix Shield, preparing for whatever was about to happen.

As they waited Cari took a closer look she began to see something. She tugged on Sky's cape "Look! There's something moving inside!" Everyone then took a closer look inside the light and saw that Cari was right, there was something or someone moving inside. What surprised them most was that it grew an outline of a pair of wings. "Is that Bloom? Is she transforming?" Flora asked, shocked at the idea.

No, one had a chance to say anything because the large fireball suddenly transformed into a dragon made of fire. It uncoiled from its tight ball and encircled a few times revealing Bloom in the center. Everyone looked surprised to see their friend floating in the middle of the fire dragon's circle with her eyes closed. But her appearance had changed a bit, she still had the same clothes that she had to begin with but she had an outline of her wings behind her. The fire dragon paused for a short moment and stared at Sky and Cari before quickly rising into the sky and then suddenly dive head first into Bloom. The impact caused a bright red light, blinding everyone for a moment.

When they finally were able to open their eyes they saw Bloom with her eyes still closed in her full Bloomix fairy form. But something was slightly, yet very, different about her appearance. Her outfit and wings were the same but they were outlined in gold, making her outfit and her wings more defined and beautiful. Her hair became a deeper shade of red with light red highlights, but there was also some small golden streaks among the light red highlights. Everyone was speechless at Bloom's appearance, she looked more like a goddess then their friend and leader. Even her aura and power felt so much stronger than it had ever been before.

Sky was elated and amazed to see his beloved Bloom unharmed and in her fairy form. But what concerned him at the moment was that she still had her eyes closed and she wasn't moving from that spot. She was just floating in front of them, a few inches off the ground. He grew more concerned with each passing second, thinking she might actually be hurt. Sky stood up while still holding onto Cari's small hand for comfort and took a step closer to his love. Aisha saw this and lowered her shield so he could get closer to her, and took a step aside. As soon as Sky was close enough to touch Bloom he stopped and he whispered. "Bloom?"

Once her name was called Bloom slowly started to open her eyes.


	20. Chapter 19: Sacred Partner

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Sorry that I wasn't able to post anything last week. I got ridiculously busy with work. But don't worry Anna I will finish this story no matter what ;-) I just might be late/very late in posting every now and then. I hope you guys won't be too mad when I do. _

_Oh and so there is no confusion this chapter starts right at the moment when Bloom was about to shoot her arrow. So this is Bloom's POV on what happens. _

_Anyway I would really appreciate any feedback or critics on my story. Thanks!_

_A special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, Bianca298, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You guys make me smile like an idiot when I read your comments! XD _

_Well, please ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 19  
****Sacred Partner **

"I don't really get it, but I trust you Bloom." Sky then got behind his love and shielded Cari in an embrace, while Bloom readied her bow and took aim at the center of the tornado.

'Ok Daphne said that this charmed arrow is just as powerful as my present emotions...' the red head closed her eyes and concentrated on what she was feeling at the moment 'Please arrow give me the strength I need to help those I love... I don't want to see anyone else get hurt... I don't want to sit on the sidelines and watch them suffer... I want to fight alongside them... I want to protect them!' The arrow's spear glowed brighter and brighter as it sensed Bloom's strong desire to protect her precious friends. When Bloom felt the height of the arrow's power she abruptly opened her eyes and released the arrow.

She watched intently as she saw the Dark Icicle Tornado explode and release all its dark spikes almost at the same time she released her arrow. 'I hope I'm not too late...' She got worried that the spikes might cause damage since there were already some spikes about to hit the Winx's shields, and she hoped their shields would hold. Bloom felt the warm protective power the arrow, and saw it glow brighter and brighter as it neared the tornado and destroy anything in its path. She knew that everything will be fine as soon as the arrow hit the target, and that nothing will harm her, Sky or Cari as long as they stayed behind the arrow's path and light. 'Until the arrow makes contact we will be safe behind its powerful light.' "It's working Sky..." elated Bloom turned around expecting to see her fiancé and Cari still behind her, safe.

But to her dismay they were gone. She quickly looked around in a panic and saw them running towards King Radius. 'Why didn't they stay behind me? The arrow would've destroyed all the spikes in a matter of seconds...' That was when Bloom turned and saw that there were spikes heading straight for the King. 'They are too close...' Bloom dropped her bow while she ran as fast as she could after them. '...the Trix must've put more force in those spikes to get King Radius... The arrow won't make it in time... if they push the king out of the way they will get hit instead...NO! I can't lose them! Not my love, not my little Cari!' Time seemed to have stopped as Bloom ran faster towards them. She saw them push King Radius out of the way and behind the safety of the columns, and Sky bent down to protect Cari from the oncoming danger. Bloom saw the spikes getting closer and closer to them. 'NO!' "SKY! CARI!"

As soon as Bloom reached them she turned her back to them so they wouldn't have to see her possible pain stricken face after the spikes made contact. She looked up just in time to see the spikes right in front of her and felt the force of the impact as she lost consciousness.

* * *

A bright light slowly woke the young princess 'Mmm... Where am I?...' She slowly opened her eyes and adjusted to the bright light. She looked around and saw nothing, just white, bright emptiness. She was scared but calm as she stood up and started to walk aimlessly forward. 'Is this it? Am I never going to see Sky, the Winx or even Cari again? ...Sigh... I really wanted to get to know Cari more... to become a real family...' Bloom paused after thinking that 'Why did I think that?... Cari has a family already, and I'm sure they are waiting for her...wherever they are' Bloom placed a hand on her chest 'Why do I feel like I never want to leave her side? To always support and care for her...I've only felt that with Sky...' "What is going on?"

"Maybe I can shed some light on your questions, young guardian Princess." Bloom abruptly turned around extremely shocked that anyone had answered her question. Before her she saw a tall gorgeous man with long waist length blue and white hair, wearing long elegant blue and gold robes with a gold outlined red dragon flying up from the bottom of the robe holding the Domino royal crest protectively in its front claws. Around his waist was a red sash with detailed embroidery of elegant blue and white flames. This tall man's hands had shinning blue scales going up his arms and even some scales on the sides of his neck. He had deep ruby eyes, which were shinning with wisdom, compassion and pride. He looked like a god. 'He looks kind of familiar...' "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

"I am always nearby and you must discover my name on your own, Sacred Dragon Flame Guardian." Bloom was taken aback at his response "How do you know that name? Only Queen Jeanne calls me that..." 'wait... could he be...' "Are you the one who helped me out of the darkness of Eldus' Curse...Are you my sacred Partner?" The man just gave her a bright knowing smile "Looks like you already met Jeanne... and yes I helped light your path back to the living. It was not your time yet, there is still much you must do..." 'How does he know about me meeting Jeanne?...What things do I have to do?'

"Did you receive my message well?" "You were the one who sent Cari to give me that message?" "I'm impressed you didn't figure it out quicker, young guardian." she crossed her arms in slight frustration "What does it mean? Why did you send Cari? Where can I find her parents? Is she and Sky safe?" "You surprise me young guardian. Why are you concerned about a strange young girl you just met? Tell me why did you take that attack? What is she to you?"

Bloom was taken aback by the sudden questions "Why wouldn't I protect the ones I love?" the man just looked calmly into Bloom's blue eyes "I can see why you would want to protect your fiancé but why did you desperately want to protect that girl you just met as well? What is she to you?" Keeping her ground from his stare she responded without hesitation "I promised to protect her, to find her parents, to find out where she belongs." the man smiled warmly "Hmm... how interesting" "What do you mean?" "I do hope you discover where she belongs soon, young guardian... her place may be closer than you think." Bloom was confused and just nodded once at the man.

"Now wouldn't you like to ask me why you are here or something along those lines?" the man asked after a short moment of silence. Bloom was brought out of her deep thoughts at his words "That's right, I don't know where I am... well I figured that this was the end for me... I mean I was hit by a direct attack, and in most of my vitals to top it off..." Bloom said as she shrugged sadly as she slightly turned her head away from the man "Do you not want to go back?" she abruptly turned around to face him again with tears in her deep blue eyes. "Of course I want to go back! I want to spend more time with my friends! I want to marry the man of my dreams! I want to watch Cari grow up! I want to be with all of them..." she wrapped her arms around herself and held herself tightly and slightly looked down "... But how can I? I've never felt this peace and calm in any of my past near death experiences. Before I had the choice to fight my way back, but now I feel like I don't have a choice to fight or more like I shouldn't fight it... I just feel like I'm peacefully floating on a gentle breeze... I feel like I should be happy... but I'm not! ...I'll be happy with them... I want to see Sky and Cari again..."

"Excellent" the young princess looked up in absolute shock at the man before her "How is that, at all, Excellent?!" she snapped at his crazy response "That means you can go back to your loved ones." Bloom looked at him with a baffled expression "I don't think you understand what I just said..." The man put his pointer finger up to indicate for her silence "No, I don't think you understand, Sacred Dragon Flame Guardian. Do you not remember the message that Cari gave you?" Bloom thought about the message for a moment. "What does that have to with this present situation?" "Everything. You must think about your past actions. About what you just said... it should come to you." when Bloom just continued to stare at him with a confused expression he decided to give her a hint. "How did your powers evolve in the beginning of your fairy journey? Specifically your Enchantix, it was the one way that everyone was able to do, except you."

Bloom took a deep breath and closed her eyes to carefully think about what he just told her. '... my Enchantix?... what was the one thing everyone was able to do to evolve that I couldn't...?' That's when it hit her and her eyed flew open "That's right the requirement! I didn't have anyone from my planet to save. Since back then everyone was sealed away... I trained and willed my powers to evolve to Enchantix..." the man just nodded once in response. "Does that mean that I get my Enchantix powers again?... but that won't be enough to defeat Eldus..."

"You would have only gained your Enchantix if you had just saved a random citizen of Domino, but instead you saved Sky and Calida Cari. Because they are the closest to your heart your powers were able to resonate with the extremely strong feelings you have for them. And with your strong love you were able to add kindle to the small spark of your sleeping true powers, allowing it to awaken and make you stronger than before." "I'm stronger now?" "Yes, very much so." "But how?" "Before you forced your powers to grow, you used just pure willpower and raw determination to do so. It was effective in a sense, but the very wrong way for you. That's why controlling your powers became much harder for you than it did for your friends." "How does willpower and raw determination make it a bad way to grow? Everyone needs those to become better to protect those around them." He just shook his head "Your powers are different, there is none other like it in this universe, save its original source. Since you didn't fully understand your powers they were always unstable and hard to keep under control. You needed more than raw power. You needed a strong base to stabilize and nurture your true power. So, because you did not selflessly protect, someone you deeply cared about, you did not gain that necessary base you needed to properly evolve. Instead a large portion of your powers were sealed away."

"What do you mean? I didn't understand. Why were my powers sealed? Who sealed them away?" "I sealed them away, deep in your heart. Out of reach, and unnoticeable." Bloom glared that the man "Why?!" he looked into her eyes with a serious stare "You could barely control your forcefully evolved powers. If I did not seal away a majority of your powers then they would have overwhelmed you, most likely killing you and anyone near you, like a nuclear meltdown. Or it would have turned you into an unstoppable force of evil, possibly even worse than the Ancestral Witches."

Bloom blinked away the deathly glare at his words. When he saw that she had calmed down he soften his stare. "Well, it would have depended on certain conditions for you to become evil...but your story would have ended tragically." Bloom paled at his words... the memory of when Darkar controlled her and changed her evil came flooding back and how she almost destroyed Sky and the Winx because of it... the thought of it happening again but worse scared her the most. 'Can I really control such power that he describes?' "What was the necessary 'base' I needed to control my sealed powers?"

"The answers you seek are still in my message. Think young guardian. The Dragon Flame itself is an inextinguishable and eternal power... What else in this universe is considered eternal? What else can transcend time and obstacles?" It took Bloom a short moment to understand what he was trying to say. "...True Love..." "Correct, young guardian." "The Dragon Flame is equivalent to true love?" "Yes, the greatest power that resides in your heart is the key to unlock your true power's locked door. That's why all those times when Sky was in danger or hurt did your powers accomplish the impossible, because of your strong feelings for your one true love that the seal slightly weakened and allowed you to save him countless times, even though the fates were against you."

"But when everyone needed to extract my powers, to save my life from Eldus' curse, why wasn't the sealed powers taken as well?" "The seal I used completely cut them off from you, so when you had to willingly give up your powers you were only able to give up the powers you knew about and not the ones sealed away. Besides, you should know young guardian true love cannot be fully extinguished, no matter how hard one tries. That's why Sky couldn't truly forget his feelings for you when he lost all his memories, or you when you were under the Keres Curse."

"So is that what you meant by awakening my true potential? To understand the true nature of my sealed Dragon Flame?... So that means that I can defeat Eldus..." Bloom smiled brightly with hope glowing in her eyes but she was soon sadden when she thought about Jeanne and her downfall. "I can't defeat Eldus can I? Jeanne wasn't able to defeat him and she had her true love AND her precious daughter to give her strength... she was the most powerful fairy who ever lived..." Bloom saw a hint of sadness in the man's deep red eyes at the mention of Jeanne, before it went back to its calm stare. "No, you will not be able to defeat this evil alone. Alone: you will face certain doom with no hope of saving anyone and the destruction of the magical dimension." Before Bloom could say anything he continued "But there is a way to defeat this great evil. You need to discover what happened to your extracted powers and you must remember my name. When all three are together will the evil be purified and peace found."

"…Bloom...?" Bloom looked to left when she heard a faint call. She saw some blurry images in the distance, in that moment she started to feel the warmth of her powers surging through her and saw that she was beginning to transform. She looked back to the gorgeous god-like man and saw that he was starting to fade away "Wait! How will I find my old powers? How can I remember your name when I've never met you before?" her sacred partner gave her a knowing smile "Your heart will lead you...when you absolutely need me you will remember... and what you seek is already in reach all you need to do is reach out and embrace it... good luck Sacred Dragon Flame Guardian."

* * *

Bloom grew slowly more aware of where she was and the situation, but kept her eyes closed while adjusting to the surge of power she felt growing within her making sure she was in full control. As she adjusted to her no longer sealed powers she began to sense all the magic within her friends. She could feel the familiar warmth of the Dragon Flame that she shared with them, burning gently within each of them. 'I can feel the Dragon Flame within all six of them... I can feel that they are safe and unharmed... wait... six? That can't be right... I only shared my flame with my five friends... and Daphne is home? who else could have it?' Bloom opened up her senses more to locate where all the Flames were. 'The Winx are behind me... I can feel their familiar powers... and the sixth... is in front of me?' That's when her sacred partner's words rang in her ears again 'what you seek is already in reach all you need to do is reach out and embrace it...'

"Bloom?" Bloom slowly started to open her eyes when she heard her beloved's voice, she wanted to let him know she was fine. But she was still curious about the sixth flame in front of her. 'It feels warm and strong, it's caring and sweet with a hidden ferocity... who is it? Why do I already accept it? I want to care and protect it...'

Bloom started to reached out towards the mysterious Flame '...All I have to do now is reach out and embrace it...' she caught the sixth flame and squeezed it gently in a loving embrace, that is when she realized what the Flame actually was. "Cari..."


	21. Chapter 20: Back in Action

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I'm so excited that I have reached my 20th chapter... I didn't expect for this story to be this long or even read by others... so thank you all for allowing me to entertain you with my little fanfic. Loves you all! XD_

_Anyway I would really appreciate any feedback or critics on my story. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

_Well, please ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 20  
****Back in Action **

Bloom started to reached out towards the mysterious Flame '...All I have to do now is reach out and embrace it...' she caught the sixth flame and squeezed it gently in a loving embrace, that is when she realized what the Flame actually was. "Cari..."

Cari hugged Bloom back with all the strength she could muster in her small five year old body. "Bloom, are you ok?" "Yes, I'm fine…but more importantly are you alright Cari? You're not hurt are you?" Cari shook her head against Bloom's shoulder. Bloom released Cari to get a good look at her and saw the young girl crying. "Sweetie what's wrong? Did you get hurt?" In between sobs Cari answered "No… I'm ok… I was just scared… you got hurt… I was scared… I wouldn't see you again…" Bloom picked up the small child to comfort her. "It's ok sweetie. I promise I won't leave you." "Really?" "Really. And you know I always keep my promises." Bloom said with a wink. Cari smiled and happily nodded.

Sky stepped forward. "Bloom what happened? Are you really ok? You did get a direct hit by the Trix's attack." Bloom turned and saw her beloved fiancé. "I'm ok Sky. Everything is ok now. I'm just so happy that I got to see you again." Bloom looked around and saw that all her friends were safe and sound, but they were all frozen and staring at her. "Guys what's wrong?" "BLOOM! What happened?! How'd you get your powers back? Why do you look different but the same? How did you save us? What's going on?!" Stella questioned "I'll explain later but first I think we need to make sure your father is unharmed and find out why the Trix were here in the first place."

'Gasp' "Daddy!" Stella looked around franticly looking for her father "Here I am darling." King Radius said as he stepped from behind the columns. Stella flew over and attacked him in an embrace. "Are you ok, daddy? You're not hurt?" "I'm ok darling. Thank you for saving me Stella, but how did you get here so fast?" "Of course, Daddy. Nova called me, she saw the Trix in one of the hallways while she was waiting for her dad. But do you know why the Trix wanted to hurt you?" "I do, but we should first check to see if everyone is unharmed before we talk more about this." Stella nodded and Winx spread out to tend to the wounded.

Suddenly, Flora came rushing back into the room. "Hey, guys I think we may have a problem." "What's wrong Flora?" Bloom asked while she still carried Cari in her arms. "It's Nova's father. I think he may have been hurt more than we first thought." Everyone rushed to see for themselves. When they arrived to where Nova was they saw her crying into her hands next to her still unconscious father, with some medics close by. "Nova what happened?" Stella asked as she flew over to her friend. Nova looked up to look at the Solaria princess. "Oh, Stella! My dad won't wake up. They said that he may have hit his head too hard when he was flown against the wall. He might have an Epidural Hematoma and they aren't sure if he will wake up." Stella looked to her friend's father and saw that his breathing was shallow and he was eerily still.

Stella stood up to face the palace medics "Why aren't you doing anything? You should be trying to cure him!" The head medic stepped forward and bowed "We tried Princess, but it seems that it is too sever for our magic to fix. Only time will tell if he will survive this injury." Stella was too shocked to respond. She couldn't fight them since they are the best medics on the planet, but what could she do to help her friend. 'It's not fair. Nova helped save my father and now I can't do anything for her's…'

"Can I try something?" Everyone turned to Bloom who was just starting to put Cari down. Stella looked questioningly at her best friend "Bloom do you think you can do something? Even when Solaria's best healers couldn't do anything." Bloom glided over next to Stella "I don't know exactly what I can do… but I have a feeling that I can do something to help." Nova looked up at Bloom. "Please, Bloom please try…" Bloom nodded, knelt down besides Nova's father, and held her hands by his head. She closed her eyes and her hands started to glow a warm orange. After a few seconds Nova's father also began to glow, starting from the top of his head and slowly made it to his feet. After a moment his breathing slowly went back to normal.

Another short moment passed before Bloom opened her eyes and the glowing slowly faded away. "Did it work? Will he be okay?" Nova asked as she reached to grab her father's hand. As soon as she touched his hand he began to stir and slowly opened his eyes. "Nova…?" "Father! I'm so glad!" Nova exclaimed with a big smile and hugged her father. She heard the Solaria medics question what just happened and their disbelief in what they had just witnessed. "How is this possible?" "Who is that fairy?" "Which planet is she from?"

Nova sat up, looked up at Bloom and slightly bowed to her. "Thank you Princess Bloom. I am in Domino's debt." Bloom was shocked at Nova's words. 'Why would Nova address me like that? … we're friends...' Bloom looked up, noticed the medic's realization on their faces, and received the answer to her inner question. 'The medics didn't recognize me and Nova told them who I was without insulting them or the royal family… clever' "No, Nova. Its ok I only did what was right. I'm glad your father will make a full recovery. Besides we are more grateful to you for alerting us to the Trix, and helping us save King Radius."

Stella flew over to her friend and gave her a big hug. "Yes, Nova thank you so much! We might not have made it in time if you didn't call me when you did. Thank you!" "Yes, Thank you Nova. You and your father have my deepest gratitude." Hearing Solaria's king Nova stood up and bowed before him. "Not at all your highness, it was nothing." "It was more than nothing. Now why don't my attendants take your father and you to one of our guest chambers so you may properly rest." "We couldn't impose…" "Nonsense. It is the least the royal family can do for all you both have done for me. Anything you may need will be at your disposal, just ask any of the attendants." Nova looked at her tired father and nodded. "Thank you very much your highness. Then we will take you up on your offer." With that a group of attendants gathered around and helped the two to the royal guest chambers, followed closely by the medics. The only ones left were the Winx, Specialists and a few guards.

"Now let's get to the matter at hand." King Radius announced as they walked back into the throne room. "Daddy, are you sure you're alright?" "Yes, sweetie thanks to you and your friends. But there is something that you must know. The Trix were here to harm me in order to get to you." "What do you mean?" "They told me that they intended to start getting rid of you Winx, one by one, now that 'Bloom was out of the picture' and they wanted to get rid of you first, Stella. With me harmed you would be distracted and alone long enough for the Trix to defeat you." Everyone was too shocked at this news to say anything, as King Radius continued. "But I don't really understand their comment about Bloom. They made it seem that they had defeated her, but she looks fine to me, stronger even. I guess I was right, they were trying to deceive me." "Actually, Daddy, right now they think Bloom died in our last encounter with them but it was a trick. Looks like they still believe she's dead." "More importantly guys. What the Trix told King Radius concerns me. If they were trying to get rid of Stella by getting to her family and they are coming after the rest of us next, than they might do the same to the rest of us. We need to warn our families!" Aisha told the group.

"I need to go home and warn my dad!" Musa exclaimed. "Then I should warn my family as well, especially Miele." Flora stated with worried eyes for her younger sister. Each Winx started to nod in agreement and started mumbling family member's names. "Everyone calm down. We shouldn't rush into anything." Everyone stopped and turned to look at Bloom. "But Bloom if we don't do something quick than the Trix will go after all our families and they will be defenseless." "I know Musa, but if we rush into this then the Trix will definitely win." "What do you mean Bloom?" Aisha asked "If we each go and warn our families then we will give the Trix what they want. For us to be separated; for us to be defenseless. Together we are stronger, together we are able to defeat the Trix. But if we separate then we will be weak and definitely lose in a 3 to 1 fight. Even I have lost to those odds, if you guys remember the time the Trix took Sky to bring Tritannus back from oblivion…" Everyone paused to think about what Bloom had just said, and they nodded their agreement.

"If we shouldn't go alone than how can we protect our families? Especially if the Trix are planning to go after them." Aisha asked concerned "We can call each of them, warn them of the dangers. We can give them the choice to go to Alfea, or go to Domino, or they can stay on their own planets and increase security."

Suddenly, a guard came running into the throne room, and bowed before the royal family. "Your majesties, urgent news from the museum… there was a break in and the Tear of Achlys was stolen." "The Tear of Achlys?! How could this be?" King Radius exclaimed. The guard flinched at his King's upset reaction "Apologizes your majesty, but the thief was said to be extremely powerful. He was a tall man dressed in all black, with medium length black hair, and with black empty eyes. The security did their best to stop him but he easily over powered them." "What is the damage?" "Thankfully there were no causalities or major injuries, just minor injuries and hurt prides." 'Sigh' "Well, at least there was some good news from this. But the Tear outside of Solaria might prove to be extremely lethal in the future…" The king pondered out loud.

"What is the Tear of Achlys, daddy?" "Well, darling it's a powerful artifact that has been protected by our planet for generations. It was said that an extremely evil witch named Achlys was saved by a good and pure man; they then fell deeply in love with each other. They wanted to spend the rest of their days with each other, but it was near impossible because he lived in the pure light of good magic and she in the deepest darkness. It hurt to be in each other's presence for very long, because each could not live without the light or darkness. In order to be with him she had decided to give up her dark magic but she did not know how. She became so depressed that she could not live with her love, that she cried tears of pure pain and sorrow. She felt her heart breaking more and more with each shed tear. She eventually got to a point where her heart couldn't take it anymore and she wished with all her being to live peacefully in the light. With that thought she shed her last tear and it became the Tear of Achlys; all her magic of pure darkness that was within her came out into that one tear. She was freed of the darkness and she was able to live her life in the light with her beloved, but she needed to keep watch over her Tear. She noticed that surrounded in the smallest darkness the Tear would absorb it and burst out in an energy blast or it could be used to amplify any attacks or one's powers in general. But if kept in the light it was kept under control and harmless, since after all the light keeps the darkness at bay. Once her time came near, she entrusted her dangerous gem to the royal family of Solaria, the brightest planet in the magical universe. And it has been in our care ever since, until today that is..."

"So that means that the Trix distracted us while, most likely, Eldus went after the Tear of Achlys. We were played…" Riven said in frustration. Bloom nodded in agreement "In the meantime we should go back to Domino and regroup with Daphne; we need to give her this new information and see what she has found out."

* * *

Icy stepped forward to have a closer look at the Tear of Achlys, and smiled "Two down one to go. When can we go pick up the last gem?" "We will need to find out its location first my dear Icy." "Ugh so does that mean we have to back to the library again?" Stormy asked in a whine. Eldus nodded with a smile "Unless you have a better idea of how to find the Gem of Lilith that is." Darcy took a step forward with a grin "I think I know of a faster way to find it..."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense Darcy… Tells us a faster way to find out where the Gem is already!" Stormy said exasperated. "You shouldn't be so impatient Stormy. I was thinking that we should try the library at Cloud Tower." "Why the one in Cloud Tower? Why not the one at Alfea? Or somewhere that is easier to get to?" Icy asked "Because to have a place that is completely void of moisture might be the work of dark magic. Good magic makes things more beautiful or lush with nature and green, while dark magic is the opposite. To make a place large enough to house the Tear would've been a great feat. And where else can one go to learn more about the great accomplishes of other witches?" "Certainly not, Alfea. Good thinking Darcy." Darcy smiled at Eldus' praise. "Now we need to think of a time to go to Cloud Tower, when not many people are around." Eldus pondered "Why can't we just go now? We can kick everyone out." "Because my dear Icy if we did that, then they would call in their allies and we would not have much time to do any research in peace. And if they decide that our defeat is more important than their library they would easily destroy the answer we are looking for."

The Trix nodded in agreement and thought for a moment when would be a good day to go and look in the library. "Hey, in about two days the Cloud Tower annual two night overnight stay into the dark forest is happening." Icy remembered "oo yea. We hated that stupid trip. Getting to know the dark forest and learning how to use its negativity to strengthen our powers outdoors was annoying and stupid." Stormy complained. "Well, that sounds like the perfect time to break in and do some research." Eldus said with a smile.

"Eldus since we have to wait a couple of days can we start charging up our relics? We might as well start now." Darcy said. "Now, now we are still missing the relic for Stormy. If I start now then the power I am going to give you guys will not be shared equally. Stormy might not get much power in the end." "We can wait! I won't be left out all the hard work I did." Stormy exclaimed as she stood agitated with sparks igniting around her.

"Alright Stormy we will get your Gem of Lilith, calm down" Icy told her sister while releasing a blast of cold air. 'humph' Stormy responded as she crossed her arms and sat down. "So do we have any idea where The Gem of Lilith could've been hidden?" Asked Stormy "It has to be a place where not much moisture exists." Darcy pondered out loud. "Well, where could that be? Almost all the planets in the universe are lush in nature, even the dark places that evil reside in have humidity." Stormy noted. "Hmm… looks like we really need to do some research. In the meantime you girls do as you like I'm going to do some reading on the modern age." The Trix smiled mischievously "Ok, we should go have some fun. What should we do sisters?" "OO let's go after Musa's family next! I still owe her for making a fool out of me in battle long ago!" "Alright Stormy, tomorrow we will pay a visit to Melody…"

* * *

"Welcome back everyone. How was everything?" "It was great Daphne! We saved my father and no one was seriously hurt." Stella said excitedly as she was the first one through the portal back to Domino. "But there was one thing that did go wrong, remember Stella…" Tecna said right behind the sun fairy "Eldus seems to have stolen the Tear of Achlys from Solaria's museum." "That's not good…" Daphne said as everyone else walked through the portal.

"They are really after powerful artifacts… especially since…" Daphne paused because she was shocked to see her sister walk through. "Bloom! What happened! You have your powers back? But how?" Daphne was so happy for her little sister that she attacked her in a big hug. "It's a long story. But long story short: I sacrificed myself for Sky and Cari, and because of that I was able to get my powers back. O and that arrow you gave me saved us from a huge disaster. Thanks." Daphne was baffled at the short explanation, but knew she would get the rest of the story later. "I'm glad it was useful. I was hoping that you wouldn't need to use it so soon after I gave it you, but I'm glad I gave it to you when I did then."

The Domino sisters hugged for a moment longer before being interrupted by Tecna. "Sorry to interrupt, but what were you saying Daphne?" Daphne released her little sister. "That's right. I was saying that Eldus and the Trix must really be looking for artifacts that will give the Trix a power boost. First it was the Diamond of Isole and now the Tear of Achlys? Now they just need to find Stormy a compatible artifact before they can go on a power hungry rampage."

"We will need to act quick, Winx." Bloom said as she took a step forward as everyone looked at her slight worry. "Imagine once all three have unlimited powers… we will all be in great danger… and with Eldus by their side… the Magical Universe could fall…"


	22. Chapter 21: Pain Filled Melody

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I would really appreciate any feedback or critics on my story. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, srthob, VampireKnight123, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

_Well, please ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 21  
****Pain Filled Melody**

"We will need to act quick, Winx." Bloom said as she took a step forward as everyone looked at her slight worry. "Imagine once all three have unlimited powers… we will all be in great danger… and with Eldus by their side… the Magical Universe could fall…"

Everyone froze at this realization "So this could mean that they are going to start looking for an artifact that will boost up Stormy's powers next…" Musa thought out loud. Bloom nodded "Daphne, is there an artifact that you know of that can do that?" "I can think of a few… but I should do a little research to make sure which one they would go after." "Ok until then, you all should go and relax for the night." Thoren suggested.

Everyone hesitated for a moment, thinking that maybe they should help in the research as well. "How about bright and early tomorrow morning we all meet up on the training grounds for some practice?" Aisha added. With that everyone was ready to rest knowing that their training will be intense, especially if they wanted to be ready for the Trix's next attack.

Everyone said their good nights and headed to their rooms to take a shower and relax for a bit before they went to sleep. "Would you like to take a bath Cari?" Bloom asked as she reverted back to her normal clothes "Yes please." the young girl said with a bright smile. Bloom turned and gave a good night kiss to her love "We will see you in the morning, ok Sky?" "Ok Bloom. Love you." Bloom smiled sweetly at her love "Love you too Sky..." She looked down at Cari once again and took her tiny outstretched hand "...I wonder if we still have those nice smelling bubbles like last time. That would be fun wouldn't it?" Cari nodded excitedly and started to jump up and down in excitement. Bloom and Cari left the room followed by the Winx and the Specialists, while Sky stayed behind with Daphne and Thoren.

Once they were alone Daphne decided to ask about the details that happened on Solaria "Sky what happened? How did Bloom get her powers back?" "Well I should start from the beginning of the fight. It seems that the Trix have been practicing a new move. They combined all their powers to create an enormous attack that would have finished us all off, if it hadn't been for that special arrow you gave Bloom. What was that anyway?"

"A few powerful sorcerers and fairies of Domino, including myself and our parents, charmed that arrow to be as a last resort defense for Bloom. We knew she would do anything to help protect the ones she loved, but she would not have the strength to do so, and that might have resulted in her final demise. Since she is important to us we couldn't let that happen, so we found a solution: something that would act as an attack as well as a defense. So it took us three days to make that arrow, we made it so it would react to her deep and true feelings and take down her target. We thought that she would use it against Eldus, but it seems that it was a good thing that she had it to use against the Trix's attack. So what else happened besides the Trix getting a bit smarter?"

"Well, when Bloom shot that arrow it worked like a charm, but Cari and I noticed that the Trix focused some of their attack on King Radius and we ran to protect him. Unfortunately in order to do that we had to exchange positions with the King, so when we pushed the King out of the way, the attacked headed towards us instead. We would have been goners if Bloom had not been there to block the attack with her body... I thought I had lost her again... but as soon as she got hit she was surrounded in an orb of white that eventually transformed into a red dragon that circled around her. Once the Dragon was gone she was in her new fairy form and had her complete powers back, but they are much stronger than they were before. She was able to heal someone when the best on Solaria said it was a lost cause..." "Wow looks like Cari's message came true. Through pure love instead of force, she was able to regain her powers to what they were supposed to be if she had gotten her Enchantix through self-sacrifice. That means that she was meant to be so much stronger than she ever was before. She just might have a chance now to defeat Eldus without ending like Jeanne." Sky nodded in agreement before continuing "But what really surprised me was that as soon as she was conscious again she grabbed Cari and asked if she was alright. I think she discovered something important about her while she was in the orb, but we haven't had time to talk properly about it." "Hmm... Looks like we are going to have to talk to Bloom first thing in the morning..."

* * *

"Hey guys! How was your night?" Bloom and Cari walked unto the training field to see Aisha, Tecna, Stella and the Specialists warming up "Hey Bloom! It was good how was yours?" "Very refreshing, Aisha. But now I'm ready for some training. Where are Flora and Musa?" "They wanted to call their families and warn them of the Trix, since it was too late last night to call. They should be by soon." Tecna said.

"Here we are!" Everyone turned to see Flora waving with Musa, walking over to them. "Hey guys how are your families?" "They're good Bloom. My dad is going to head over to Alfea in about a day or two; he needs to finish up a few things at work before leaving. I might go pick him up when he is ready just to be safe though." "And my family says that they will be fine where they are, but they have informed the Elders of the possible dangers so they can prepare." Flora said with a smile. "That's good. How about you two?" Bloom asked as she turned to ask Aisha and Tecna. "They wanted to stay where they are. So, I have updated their security system and linked it with my phone. If anyone comes near them I will know about it first." Tecna said with a grin as she held up her handheld phone. "And my parents are just going to increase security. They are going to let me know if anything happens."

"Good now we know that everyone is being cautious, how about we start our training?" Bloom said with a smile. Everyone cheered their response. Bloom felt a light tug on her hand and she looked down at Cari "Hey Bloom what can I do? I want to practice too." "Sure sweetie we can all practice together." "Yay!" "Let's get started then."

Before they had a chance to start their training they were interrupted by Sky and Daphne. "Bloom!" "Hey Sky!" She ran over and gave her fiancé a sweet kiss. "How are you doing, love?" "I'm good Sky. That bath that Cari and I took last night did wonders." "I can see that." Sky smiled as he looked down to little Cari finally catching up to Bloom "How did you like your bath with Bloom, Cari?" He bent down to pick up the small girl. "It was fun. We used the nice smelling bubbles and everything." "Wow that sounds great. Are you going train with us to?" "Yup. I want to help defeat the bad people too." "Wow you are so brave Cari." Daphne commented "Thank you. I want to be as brave as Bloom when I grow up." Cari responded with a blush at her praise.

"I'm sure you will little one…" Daphne said as she patted Cari on the head. "Bloom before you start can we talk for a bit?" "Sure Daphne what's up?" "Well, I was wondering if you could give us more information about what happened to you while you were in the white orb… and how you got your powers back…" "Sure but first… Hey Cari why don't you ask the Specialists to help start your training? That way you can get a head start." Bloom said to the little girl with a wink "Ok!" Sky put the little girl down and she ran over to the Specialists and asked them to help her start training. Bloom smiled warmly when they started to show Cari some self-defense moves and the small girl trying her absolute best to copy them exactly.

"She means a lot to you doesn't she Bloom?" "Yea she does Daphne. And she is very important to me in more ways than one. Especially now that I know my old powers are hidden within her…" "… Wait what?" Bloom turned to Sky "You heard right, Sky. She holds the extremely strong powers I gave up, in her tiny body." "I think you need to start from the beginning Bloom." "Yea that's a good idea Thoren…well to start off I met my Sacred Partner..."

* * *

After Bloom told them everything her Sacred Partner told her, she went to train with the rest of the Winx. Cari was sitting not far from everyone, taking her break and she was watching intently how the Winx were practicing their aerial attacks. 'Wow they are so fast and high… I wonder if I could fly like that one day...' Cari closed her eyes and imagined flying in the skies with her own pair of wings alongside Bloom.

Bloom stopped mid-attack when she started to sense a small power growing. She looked down and saw that Cari had her eyes closed and was starting to glow a light orange with the slight outline of wings behind her. "Hey Bloom watch out!" Aisha exclaimed. "Huh?" Bloom turned just in time to see an attack hit her. She was forced back but managed to regain her balance quickly "Ow..." Bloom said as she rubbed her head.

Cari opened her eyes when she heard the commotion and looked up to see Bloom get hit from Aisha's attack and her friends rush forward to see how she was after the blow. "Hey Bloom you ok? What happened?" Aisha asked concerned "I'm ok guys... I was just distracted that's all..." "What could have distracted you in the middle of a mock battle?" Musa asked "…I thought I saw Cari almost transform into a fairy form..." "You what?!" The Winx exclaimed "Shhh… quiet down… don't scare her…" They then heard a tiny voice yell up to them "Bloom are you ok?" Everyone turned and looked down at little Cari standing up with a concerned look on her face. "I'm ok sweetie don't worry!"

She turned back to her friends once she saw that Cari calmed down and sat back down. "Can you explain Bloom?" Bloom nodded at Tecna "You guys know how my powers are hidden in Cari, Right? Well, I think maybe I just sensed that they are starting to surface now…" "But how can that be? A fairy's powers don't surface until at least 13 years of age. Cari is only 5, it's just not possible." Tecna stated. "You have a point Tacna, but how else could you explain what I just felt? And we do have to consider that she holds my full previous powers. They were extremely hard to control at the beginning for me, so it might be a bit difficult for little Cari to control as well. They might be trying to break free without her knowing. I'm just worried… she was forced to hold a powerful and dangerous power… she could've had a peaceful life if I hadn't been so careless… one so small shouldn't have to deal with these kinds frightening burdens…"

Flora floated forward and placed a hand on Bloom's shoulder "Nothing is your fault Bloom. It might have been her destiny to hold such power, I mean she hasn't lost control yet being so small and possibly not having any magic in her in the first place. Besides she has you to help her with the control; she's not alone like you were at first. And if it helps we can always start training her to use her powers so she can have better control of them farther down the road." Bloom nodded and smiled "Your right Flora. We're not alone she has me and I have you guys and Sky. I know she will be able to control her powers and I will be here to guide her every step of the way. Thanks girls" the Winx nodded and came in for a group hug. "Why don't you guys continue with the mock-battles. I want to see if Cari is even aware of her powers to use now." The Winx agreed and started their training again while Bloom went down to train with Cari.

"Hey sweetie. How are you doing?" "Hi Bloom. I'm good I was just about to ask Sky to start training me again." "Great. But how about I train you for a bit instead?" Cari jumped up in excitement "Really?!" Bloom giggled at Cari's excitement "Of course Sweetie. What do you say that we work on your mental and magical abilities?" Cari's eyes widened "You really think I have magical powers? I can be a fairy just like you?" "You can be anything you want to be. And I'm sure you have magic, I can sense powers within you." Bloom said. Cari's smile grew so large and bright the Bloom wondered if she was going to burst with happiness.

"Can we start practicing now!?" "Sure. The first thing we need to practice is mediation and concentration." "Why?" "Without a clear mind or focus your powers could unconsciously activate and accidently hurt those you care about." Bloom thought of an example when she saw the confusion on the small girl's face. "For example: If you get really angry at someone or something, your powers might come out on its own. If that happens you might hurt someone innocent or even yourself. Does that make sense?" "Yes, Bloom if I'm not careful I might get hurt or others. I promise to be careful." "That's my girl! Now let's start some basic mental training and see if you can sense the magic within yourself." Bloom said as she released her transformation and sat down in front of Cari "ok!" the smiling little girl responded before doing a little jump before sitting down.

* * *

"Where are you ladies headed off to?" Eldus asked while not taking his eyes off the book he was reading "We are just off to have some fun and do some damage!" Stormy responded with glee. "Ok have fun."

With that the Trix stepped through the portal to Melody after casting an invisibility spell. Once they were through they saw that they were near the ocean. "Now where do we find Musa's father?" "Well, I remember overhearing that he dearly misses his dead wife just as much as Musa. And their favorite spot was by the singing whales Warf. Maybe he's there reminiscing…" "Good idea Stormy, let's go. It's not too far from here." Icy ordered

* * *

"Oh my dear, Matlin." Ho-Boe said towards the waters in front of him while holding a beautiful bouquet of orange roses. "I might not be able to come here to visit for a little while, I hope you can forgive me, but I need to take a trip to visit our beautiful Musa. Looks like she's saving the universe again..." "And too bad she's too busy to come save you!"

"What?" Ho-Boe abruptly turned around to see the Trix slowly coming into sight as the dispelled their invisibility spell, floating a few feet behind him. In shock he stepped back until his back touched the end of the pier's railing and he dropped his flowers into the water. "What are you three witches doing here?" "Oo we just came to enjoy the scenery…" Stormy said sarcastically as she looked out to the ocean before slowly looking back at the man with a chilling glare "… and to destroy Musa" the storm witch sent a shiver down his spine when she looked back at him. "She's not here! And I won't tell you where she is!"

"That's fine by us. We don't really care where she is right now. We weren't looking for her anyway." Darcy stated "Then what..?" "We were looking for you Porky!" Stormy exclaimed as she sent an attack towards him. Ho-Boe jumped out of the way in time and started running along the pier as fast as he could. 'I need to call Musa!' He took out his phone while running and dialed his daughter's number.

* * *

"Nice defense Flora!" Musa exclaimed at her sparring partner. "Thanks Musa. Your attacks are getting stronger too." "I feel stronger! How about another go?" "Sure!" Before they could start Musa's phone started ringing. "Oo hold on Flora I'm getting a call…It's my dad… Hello? Dad?" "Musa! …" On the hologram call she saw that her father was running, and fast by the way he was talking in-between breaths of air. "The Trix are on Melody! …At the Warf!... aaahh!" "Daddy!" Musa screamed when she saw him get hit by Stormy's lightening. Musa saw that her father dropped the phone, but just before it cut off she heard Stormy "Not so fast porky!"

"Musa what happened? What's wrong?" Flora asked as soon as she was near her friend. Musa was too distraught to say anything. She looked around and saw that the rest of the Winx surrounded her in concern. She was shaking and in tears until she saw Bloom. "Bloom! We have to go help my Dad! The Trix are hurting him! We have to save him! Please!" Everyone gasped and Bloom became very serious "Got it. Let's go Winx!" With that she opened a portal to Melody and as soon as it opened Musa rushed through followed by everyone else. Before Bloom went through she quickly dove down to Cari "Cari I need you to go find Sky and tell him we went to Melody. Musa's father is in danger, and for him to meet us there. To use the Odyssey." "Ok Bloom." The small girl turned and ran off to the other training field where the Specialists were training on the obstacle course. Once she saw Cari running Bloom raced towards the portal to meet up with the Winx in Melody.

* * *

"You thought you could get away from us old man? You're too slow and fat for that" Stormy remarked. Feeling paralyzed after the shock that he received Ho-Boe tried his best to sit up and face his attackers with no fear on his face or in his heart. "Oo you can still move old man? Impressive. This might be more fun than I thought." Icy said with a smirk. "You three are the ultimate cowards!" Ho-Boe spat at the Trix "What did you say!" "You heard me. This is low even for you witches. You know you can't defeat my daughter or the Winx so you resort to hurting their loved ones to have a slight chance at winning." "I think your old age is getting to you old man. You should be begging for your life right about now." Darcy remarked "I won't beg to you pitifully weak witches." "You do know that you are at our mercy? You are far weaker than us, we can break you in one glance." Ho-Boe glared at Stormy "I know I am no match for you three. But my daughter and her friends on the other hand can defeat you again... just like all the previous times."

"How dare you!" Icy spat "You shouldn't have pushed us!" Darcy exclaimed "Now you will pay with your life porky!" Stormy growled as all three threw an attack at the defenseless man. Stormy sent her 'Dark Tornado' that sent him flying a some feet into the air above the ocean, followed by Darcy's 'Darkness Strike' that made him fall to earth faster, then just as he was about to hit the water Icy threw her 'Ice Coffin' at him.

Ho-Boe stopped feeling much pain after Stormy's first attack numbed him, but he could still feel the impact of each blow. As he saw Icy's attack coming towards him he closed his eyes and waited for the end. 'I'm sorry Musa. I'm going to leave you all alone in this world. I hope you don't mourn too much, be happy that I will finally be able to see your beautiful mother again...'


	23. Chapter 22: Can I Save Him?

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_A special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, srthob, VampireKnight123, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

_Please ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 22  
****Can I Save Him?**

"Dad?!" Musa yelled as soon as she passed through the portal and began the search for her father and the Trix. 'Where is he? I don't see or hear anyone...' Musa kept searching with the rest of the Winx right behind her.

Once they searched the entire Warf they regrouped "I don't see anyone..." Flora said sadly "Do you think the Trix took him as a hostage?" Aisha pondered "It is a possibility..." Tecna commented. Bloom thought for a moment as she glanced at Musa's panicked face "Let's do a magical scan first... They might have traveled inland or something... Tecna?" The fairy of technology nodded and sent hundreds of small balls of purple lights to scan the immediate area. After a few seconds they returned and faded away as soon as they transferred the data to Tecna's handheld.

"Did you find anything Tecna?" "Just one more second Musa..." Musa nodded but continued to be fidgety as they waited. "Ok according to my scans: the Trix already left through a portal, but it does not seem that they took your father with them..." "Then where is he?!" "I'm not exactly sure. I see traces of him in the area but it seems that he just disappeared. There are no traces that he left area, he might be hiding somewhere on the Warf that my scanners cannot reach." "But we already looked around the entire Warf and no one found him! Can't you give me a better answer than that Tecna?!" Bloom placed a hand on Musa's shoulder "Musa calm down. Tecna is doing the best she can to help. Getting upset won't help anyone, especially your father." Musa looked to her friend with defiance at first but knew that she was right. She relaxed and nodded "You're right Bloom... I'm Sorry Tecna..."

Tecna gave her friend a small smile "its ok Musa. I know this is hard, but we will find him. Ok?" Musa nodded once then walked a few feet away from her friends towards the edge of the Warf, and looked down at the clear water and noticed something. 'Gasp!' "Musa what's wrong?" "Flora there are orange roses in the water... those were my mother's favorite... my dad must've been visiting her before he came to Alfea... That must've been the important matter he had to do before coming..." Musa's eyes started to water at the thought of losing both her parents and being left behind all alone.

Musa bent down and placed a hand into the water to pick up one of the roses. After a moment they heard a tiny voice coming from the sea. "Musa! Musa! Help!" Musa and Flora looked out to the calm waters and saw Sonna rushing towards them. "Sonna what's wrong?" "Musa, please help us! We helped a man who was attacked, but we are not strong enough to bring him back to the surface. Please help!" 'We checked the land but not the water!' Musa thought as she took no time casting a spell to allow her to breathe underwater and diving into the water after Sonna. Flora turned around and raced to inform the others.

Musa swam as fast as she could after the guardian Selkie of Melody. Soon she was able to see the rest of the Selkies surrounding someone, who was floating a few inches off the ocean's bottom, while holding up a barrier around him. When she got closer she saw who it was "Daddy!" The Selkies turned around without releasing their barrier that protected Ho-Boe and looked relieved when they saw Musa. "Musa!" They all exclaimed as she swam up to her father and placed a hand on his right cheek. "What happened to you?"

"We'll tell you everything once we get him back to the surface. We can't keep this barrier up for much longer." Lithia stated. Musa nodded "Right." She put up her own barrier and helped her father to the surface, followed closely by the Selkies.

Musa helped her father to the surface while trying her best to keep herself together. 'Please Daddy, be ok! I can't lose you too…' As soon as she reached the beach she saw her friends running towards them. And saw Bloom in the lead. 'Bloom can help you Daddy. It will be ok…' Musa levitated her father onto to dry land and slowly lowered him onto a bed that Aisha made with her morphix powers on the beach. Once he was safely on the bed she looked to Bloom with empty and pleading eyes, but couldn't form the words she wanted to ask.

'Musa looks like she is going to go into shock…' Bloom observed as she looked into her friend's eyes. She stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder "Musa can I take a look at your father?" Only one short nod was her response. Bloom knelt down besides Ho-Boe and used her powers to scan his injuries. Everyone waited and prayed for a good outcome.

Aisha couldn't stand to look at the situation in front of her because it reminded her too much of the death of her first love, Nabu. So she took the time to find out what happened, she walked to the water's edge where she saw the Selkies waiting and praying as well. "Hey can you guys tell us what happened?" Sonna nodded and began "I invited everyone over for a tea party… but during the party we heard some yelling when we got closer to the Warf we saw those flowers fall into the water…" Sonna said as she pointed to the orange flowers that were floating in the water. "… At first I just assumed it was the man who always comes here every other day and drops flowers for his late wife… but after a short moment we heard fighting and more yelling so we surfaced to see that man running away from the Trix… we tried to help but Stormy blew us away when we attacked her… we swam back as fast we could to see the Trix throw him high into the air and Icy throw her 'Ice Coffin' at him. We sent a barrier right before the ice hit him, in hopes that it would protect him enough from certain death. We also helped cushion his blow when he hit the water so he wouldn't break and gently guided him down to the ocean's bottom."

Aisha nodded and smiled "Wow you guys were so brave. Do you know what happened to the Trix?" Lemmy nodded "Before we did anything we made sure that the Trix left. We saw them go through a portal saying that they were going to celebrate before going after Musa. Once they were gone we got to work in melting the Ice Coffin and unfreezing the man." "But once he was freed we were so tired that we couldn't bring the man back up to the surface. All we could do we put up a barrier to at least give him air to breathe." Serena added "We didn't know what to do. That's when I felt Musa touch the water and knew she would help us. That's when I went to her and asked for help." Aisha smiled and gently patted Sonna on the head "You did a good job Sonna, all of you did."

The Selkie's gave a small smile and nodded at Aisha's praise. They all glanced at Musa and Bloom and grew curious "Aisha who is that man? Why is Musa so sad? Does she know him?" Aisha looked sadly at her musical friend and her father and nodded "Yes, Sonna. That is Musa's father; he is all she has left of her family. She already lost her mother so she does not want to lose her father too, that is why she is so sad." The six Selkies gasped and hugged each other for support and started to pray that Ho-Boe would make it.

After a seemingly long moment Bloom put her hands down and looked away from Musa. When nothing was said Aisha walked back to her friends and asked the question that everyone was scared to ask, in a shaky voice. "Bloom… will he make it?" Everyone held their breath in fear of what the response would be. Bloom took a deep breath herself before saying anything. She slowly turned to Musa and saw the hope in her friend's saddened eyes. With tears in her eyes and a shaky voice Bloom answered the question. "I'm so sorry Musa… There is nothing I can do… I really tried my best but his body is too damaged and far gone to save him… but I can tell you that he did not feel pain when hit with the last attacks… I saw that his nerves were numbed from an electric attack…probably Stormy's... I'm sorry…" Everyone was too shocked to say or do anything. They all just stood there baffled, frozen waiting for Bloom to say she was mistaken.

In that moment the Specialists arrived on the Odyssey. Riven saw that Musa was kneeling near her motionless father and he could tell that his girlfriend was trembling and reaching her emotional limit. He was the first to jump off the boat and started to run over to her. As he was running he saw that Bloom was not doing anything and looking to Musa with apologetic eyes, he saw that no one else was doing anything to help Ho-Boe. That's when he then knew that Musa lost her father.

"Musa!" Riven saw Musa slowly turned towards him with empty, shadowing eyes. 'She is trying so hard to be strong… she doesn't want to lose herself to the pain… she doesn't want to remember the final days of her mother…' Riven knelt down beside her and embraced her in a strong supportive hug, and whispered into her ear: "It's ok Musa I'm here for you. I will pick up the broken pieces of your heart; we will get through this together. It's ok to cry, to scream, to feel."

Hearing those words broke the wall that she tried so hard to keep up. She knew that Riven would help her through this and so she gave him her crushed heart and cried for the death of her beloved father.

The Winx cried with her and hugged each other for support. Their boyfriends rushed over and supported their girlfriends as they cried for Musa's loss.

* * *

The Trix laughed as they saw Musa's father disappear into the ocean's waters in the Ice Coffin. "Let's go sisters. I am in a good mood and I want nothing to spoil it." Icy said with a bright smile as she stretched out her arms. "Yea! Let's celebrate. Once Musa finds out she'll be such a wreck it'll be so easy to finish her off." Stormy said with a grin "Hey if anything she will be happy that we will reunite her with her family... in the afterlife!" Darcy said. The Trix laughed with pure joy as they went through the portal back to Lord Darkar's Castle.

Once they arrived they saw Eldus still reading the book they left him with. He looked up from his book and saw the Trix glowing with happiness. He smiled at them "Well, it seems that you ladies had a good time. You do the damage you set off to do?" "We sure did. And it was soooo much fun!" Stormy said as she bounced up and down. "We are going to celebrate. Would you like to join us?" Eldus closed his book and grinned "I would love too." They all laughed as they conjured up food and drinks.

* * *

'There must be something we can do. It can't end this way, Musa needs her father...' Riven thought as he cradled Musa on his lap as she continued to cry and mourn for her father. He looked to see that the rest of the Winx and Specialists were solemn and sad for Ho-Boe's death, waiting for Musa to decide what she wanted to do next. Riven looked down at his love's depressed face and held her tighter. 'I wish there was something I could for her... I wish I could take away her sadness... somehow... wait... wish?' Riven was hit with a memory of when Musa returned from Melody after the Singing Whales disappeared. 'That's it!' He grabbed Musa's shoulders and forced her to look at him.

"Musa you can wish for your father to come back!" Musa looked at him like he had lost him mind. "Riven what are you talking about?... if only it was that easy..." Riven shook his head "But it is that easy Musa! Have you forgotten already?" "Forgotten what?" "You still have a wish to ask for from your Sirenex Guardian! Remember? You told me that after you saved the Singing Whales she appeared and gave you the choice to make your wish. You wanted to wish for your mother to return to the living, but you knew that that wasn't right. But since that was the only wish that you truly wanted she told you that she would wait for you to decide on another. Now you have another wish that she can grant for you! You can wish for your father to come back!"

Musa was at a loss for words. She could feel the hope building up inside her as she registered what Riven had just said. 'He's right… I still have an unused wish…' Riven could see the hope and life filling up Musa's eyes again and he prayed that the wish would work. He turned to Bloom who was pondering over Riven's words. "Its possible right Bloom?" "I'm not exactly sure. It is called a 'Sirenex Wish' and since we are no longer Sirenex fairies I don't know if they could grant the wish…" "But we can at least try right? Musa still has a right to her wish; she did please destiny and what not, right?" Riven said with confidence. Everyone looked to Bloom waiting for her response. Bloom looked a Musa's tear streaked face with the slightest spark of hope glowing in her eyes. Bloom took a deep breath and stepped forward "Let's go to the Infinite Oceans and try Musa." Musa looked to Bloom then Riven and back again. When she looked at Riven he nodded his encouragement and held out his hand to help her up. She nodded back and took his hand.

Bloom smiled encouragingly at Musa and then turned to the Selkies. "Can you guys guide us to the Infinite Oceans?" "Of course Bloom!" the Selkies responded. Bloom nodded in response and turned to the Winx. "Let's go Winx. To the Infinite Ocean." Everyone looked to their sad musical friend and nodded as they cast a spell to allow them to breathe underwater and dove after the Selkies. Riven held onto Musa's hand before letting her go "Be careful Musa, ok?" Musa gave him a small smile and nodded "I will Riven…" she reached up and kissed him gently on the lips. "…and thank you." Riven blushed and slightly turned away in embarrassment. "Yea… well you know I will always be here for you Musa…" "I know." She cast her spell and dove after her friends.

Musa saw that her friends were waiting for her by Melody's ocean gate. "You ready Musa?" "I'm ready Flora." The Selkies nodded and turned to open the gate to the Infinite Ocean. When they all swam through the portal they noticed that their hair didn't change color like it used to when they were Sirenex fairies. "Aww that's disappointing I was hoping to see my green hair again." Stella said as she ran her fingers through her hair. "We can worry about that later Stella. Let's find our guardians first." "Yea you're right. Which way was it again?"

"This way! We are really close." Illiris pointed to the right of them. "Good the faster I can make my wish the better." Musa said as she swam in the direction the selkie pointed to. After a few seconds she could overhear the conversation Tecna was having with her bonded Selkie. "Lithia what is the possibility of the guardians rejecting Musa's wish?" "I'm not really sure Tecna. Technically the Sirenex wish is for a Sirenex fairy to wish upon, and since you guys are no longer Sirenex fairies I'm not 100% confident that they will even be able to grant you wish. But the wish itself is very possible, after all Aisha wished for something similar and it was granted without any problems."

After a few minutes they reached the Lair of Omnia, the supreme guardian of Sirenex, and were greeted by the lair's guards. "Halt! Who goes there?!" The Sonna were the first to respond the guard's question "Stand down. We have brought the Winx. They have requested an audience with Omnia and the guardians of Sirenex." The guard nodded "Very well. Follow me." He turned and swam into to the lair to where Omnia was chatting with the guardians.

The guard's leader bowed before Omnia. "My lady the Winx and their selkies request an audience with you and the guardians." "Oo how nice. Please let them in." "Yes my lady." He turned and ordered the doors to be opened and told the Winx to enter. "Winx! How have you been? What brings this great pleasure?" Bloom swam forward "I wish that we had come in a better circumstances Omnia. But unfortunately we are in need to some help." Omnia became serious and nodded "What is it Bloom? What has happened? How can I help?" "Actually Musa needs to ask her guardian something important." Bloom moved to the side and allowed Musa to step forward

"Guardian of Sirenex, I want to make my wish that I was promised. I want to wish for my father to live." Musa's guardian of Sirenex swam forward and looked to Musa with sad and regretful eyes. "Musa…"


	24. Chapter 23: Can your Wish be Granted?

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I am sooooo Sorry that I have not been able to post in like 2 weeks. But rest assured I DID NOT forget about you or this story! I have been thinking and writing it when I was able. I was just SUPER busy recently… working from 9AM to 2AM to get stuff done. And it didn't help that my beloved cat of 14 years passed away last week… but now that things have calmed down a bit, I was able to finally finish the next chapter. I am still very determined to finish this story! XD _

_Anyway any feedback or critics would be appreciated on my story. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, srthob, VampireKnight123, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

_Please ENJOY! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 23  
****Can your Wish be Granted?**

"Guardian of Sirenex, I want to make my wish that I was promised. I wish for my father to live." Musa's guardian of Sirenex swam forward and looked to Musa with sad and regretful eyes.

"Musa… I am so sorry for your loss." The guardian looked doubtfully at the fairy of music as she continued "…but I do not know if I can make your wish come true… since you are no longer a Sirenex fairy…" Musa felt tears flooding into her eyes once again "But that shouldn't really matter… I mean I was promised a wish it shouldn't matter whether my power evolved or not… It's not like I was able to stay as a Sirenex fairy… it was taken, then Bloom shared her magic's flame with us, and we had to get stronger to save the universe again…"

The guardian raised her hand to silence the rambling fairy "I know that you have pleased destiny many times Musa, you and the Winx…. But the way the wish works is that it taps into your Sirenex fairy's powers and feels the wish deep inside your heart… the wish then momentarily links the Sirenex powers of the guardian and the fairy as one… it then feels the desired wish and uses the strong feelings and powers of both to make the wish come true… now that you are a Bloomix fairy we might not be able to link our powers together to make such a large wish come true… And we will need both our powers for this… I know that I cannot do it on my own…" The guardian looked down at her hands, to afraid to see the deep pain and grief that was displayed on Musa's face.

Omnia gave a small smile as she swam forward. "There is a slight chance we can make it work, but it might fail in one way or another…" a glimmer of hope flashed through Musa's eyes "Please, just do your best. I want to try every possible thing that can even slightly work… I just can't stand to lose my father too when there was a chance to do something." Musa said as tears started to stream down her face. Omnia nodded "We will my dear Musa. After all you did please destiny, therefore you are entailed to your Sirenex wish." Omnia turned to the other guardians "Now in order for this to work, we all will have to push our powers to the limit and make this wish together. We will have to make sure that all of our powers are perfectly balanced with one another, if one is too strong or too weak then it will not work. Maybe if we all work together we can grant Musa her wish, and return her father to the living." The guardians nodded and swam toward Omnia until they were in a lose circle in front of the Winx.

"Omnia, is there anything we can do to help?" Bloom asked. Omnia nodded "Just think of Musa's wish coming true. The positivity will help the magic grow stronger." The Winx nodded and held each other's hands as they huddled around Musa for comfort and prayed that her father would come back and how happy they will be when they were reunited once again.

"Come guardians let's make Musa's wish come true." Omnia said as she held out her hands for the other guardian's hands "Yes!" they held each other's hands and they closed their eyes to concentrate. They began to glow brighter and brighter. The guardians pushed themselves passed their limits to make this happened. They had the look of their struggle and pure determination on their faces as they worked to keep their powers balanced with one another. After a small moment a bright white ball began to appear in the center of the guardians. It grew brighter and bigger with each passing second. After a short second it grew too large to stay centered between the guardians so it began to float up above them. It floated higher and bigger until it suddenly shot up towards the sky.

Once the ball was out of sight the guardians collapsed from exhaustion after the bright ball disappeared. After a short moment, Musa's guardian turned to face her fairy. "Your wish has been granted Musa. But you should hurry back to check on your father and make sure." Musa's worried face immediately turned to pure joy as she shed new tears of happiness, but she frowned after she processed everything her guardian had just said. "Why do I need to hurry back? He's alive isn't he? My wish was granted, he's fine right?" The guardian stood upright before beginning to explain "While granting your wish there seemed to be some reluctance in the process." "What does that mean?" "Well, it could mean a number of things: That someone interfered, we weren't strong enough to properly grant your wish, or your father did not wish to come back… I couldn't tell you the exact reason, you would need to go back and confirm it with your father's condition… but don't be surprised he is not fully healed…"

Musa nodded once "Thank you guardians. Thank you, Omnia. I appreciate what you have done for me." "Yes, Thank you very much" The Winx said as they gave a slight bow to the guardians and Omnia. Omnia got up and slightly bowed at the Winx "You are very welcome Winx. And we wish you the best of luck in destroying this new evil that has been awakened to the magical dimension… and thank you for risking your happiness to bring peace once again." Bloom smiled slightly "Of course we will risk everything to bring peace; it's our job to protect the magical dimension… Besides our happiness depends on the peace of the universe, without it no one would ever be truly happy. Right, girls?" "Right, Bloom!" They all responded with determined smiles. Omnia was a bit surprised by this response but smiled back anyway "You all have pure and strong hearts. With that you will defeat any foe that comes your way." "Thank you, Omnia. Now if you will excuse us we should be on our way." Bloom said as she and the Winx gave a final bow "Safe travels to you Winx! And you are all welcomed to visit anytime." Omnia said with a kind smile. "Just as you are more than welcomed in our kingdoms, Omnia… guardians." Bloom said with a kind smile as she turned to the Winx and the Selkies and motioned for the Selkies to lead them back.

Before Bloom could follow the Winx out, she was stopped by Omnia "Bloom a word of advice?" Bloom turned to look at Omnia "Things are not always what they seem to be. For example, the underwater currents may be violent and ruthless at first glance and when you fight it, but when you gently and calmly follow its path they always lead to calm and crystal clear waters… Misunderstood, broken or scared people will be the same, you will have to keep firm and look past the violent waters to see what needs to be seen, to save who needs to be saved…to help a lost soul" Bloom looked confused at Omnia "I don't understand… who is this 'lost soul' I need to save?" Omnia gave Bloom a small smile. "It may be too early for you to know now… but don't worry you will soon discover who, my dear Bloom. And the answer is in the past, with your strongest ancestor… now you should head along; your team is waiting for you." Bloom floated there for a moment in confusion for a moment wanting to ask more questions, but she saw that Omnia would not give her anymore answers. So she just nodded and swam after the Winx.

'Who needs to be saved? And how can Jeanne help me find out who it is?'

* * *

"I hope Musa and the Winx made it to the Infinite Oceans already." Riven thought out loud as he sat by the water's edge looking out to the sea's calm waters. Suddenly he saw a bright white glowing ball shoot out of the water and rush towards them. Riven jumped up and started backing away from the water. "Guys!" The Specialists turned to see what Riven was looking at and they all jumped into defensive positions in front of Ho-Boe. "What is it?" Timmy asked as he took out his weapon "No idea, but we will know soon enough!" Sky exclaimed as the bright orb got closer and was aimed for the Specialists, dead center.

The Specialists put up their shields and braced themselves for the impact. But before the orb made contact it stopped and abruptly shot up and over the Specialists. It stopped right above Ho-Boe's body before slowly sinking into his chest. "umm… should we assume that was Musa's wish?" Timmy asked pointing at Ho-Boe's now glowing and slightly floating body. "I guess so… Let's hope it worked…" Sky said as he put away his shield. "It has to work!" Riven said with determination

After a seemingly long moment Ho-Boe's body's glow started to fade away as he rested once again on the Morphix bed. No one knew what to do at that point. "Umm… did it work?" Helia asked as he stepped closer to Ho-Boe, and checked his pulse. Riven stepped closer before asking "Anything?"

* * *

"Musa slow down!" Bloom exclaimed. Musa just looked back without slowing down at all "But I want to see my father! The wish had to have worked! It just had to!" "Well, it doesn't look like she's going to slow down, so that means we just need to speed up!" Aisha said as she began to swim faster. The Winx glanced at each other and nodded before picking up the pace after their musical friend.

"Hey! We can't keep up! And you guys can't open the gate to Melody without us!" the selkies exclaimed as they tried their best to keep up "Then how about a ride?" Flora said with a giggle as she scooped up the selkies and swan after her friends.

They arrived at the gate and the selkies opened the gate to Melody. Once they were through they swam as fast as they could towards the Warf. Once close enough Musa shot up out of the water and flew as fast as she could to land.

"Thanks for the ride Flora." "You're welcome Desiryee. Thank you guys for guiding us to the Infinite Oceans." Flora responded as she released the selkies and swam to the surface. "No problem. You go on ahead Flora, we will catch up." Desiryee told her bonded fairy. Flora nodded and jumped out of the water and flew towards land.

Musa saw the Specialists surrounding her father but she couldn't tell if he was alive or not. She saw that her boyfriend was close to her father to give her the answer she needed "Riven!" Riven looked up when he heard her "Musa!" He got up and went over to greet his girlfriend. He reached out his hand and she grabbed it as she landed beside him. Fearing for the worst Musa only looked into her boyfriend's eyes searching for her answer. "Riven… did it work? Is my dad… back?" Riven looked at Musa with a loving but sad expression. He suddenly embraced her and she instinctively returned the embrace. "Riven what's wrong?... D-Did it not work?"

Riven shook his head against Musa's hair. "No, babe he's back… but he seems like he's in a lot of pain. Most likely from the blows he received from the Trix's attacks. He's still unconscious but Timmy and Helia are looking after him right now." "Then why the firm hug?" He just shrugged "I just figured that you needed a hug after all the stress you just went through… Just trying to be a good supportive boyfriend to his beloved girlfriend… though it's not really my strong point so I don't know if I'm doing it right…" Musa tightened her grip on Riven and started to cry her stress away "No… you're doing everything… right. Thank you Riven… you're amazing."

After a short moment she released him and gave him a soft sweet kiss before turning to look at her friends. She blushed as soon as she turned around and saw her friends starting awestruck at her and Riven, surprised at their public display of affection. "Aww I can't believe that Riven has become soooo sweet!" Stella exclaimed loudly while giving them a wink. Musa blushed and looked at Riven expecting him to start a fight but all he did was slightly blush and grunt in response. Musa just smiled in response.

But when Musa turned she also saw her father still lying on the morphix bed. Musa started to walk over while holding Riven's hand tightly in hers. She knelt down besides her father and she was relieved to see him breathing. She saw what Riven meant when he said that he looked like he was in hurting. His face looked pained, his breathing was a bit fast, and his body was very tense and favoring his left side. "Oh daddy. You must be in so much pain..." Musa looked up and saw Bloom walking over. "Bloom… can you do anything to help?"

Bloom knelt down on the other side of Ho-Boe and nodded with a small smile at Musa. "Of course I can, Musa." Bloom placed her hands above Ho-Boe's chest and closed her eyes. Her hands started to glow a soft orange and it slowly spread through Ho-Boe's body. Everyone stayed quiet as they saw how focused Bloom was, no one wanted to ruin her concentration.

Musa grew more anxious as she saw her friend start to breathe heavily and some sweat beading on her forehead. 'It looks like Bloom is having a hard time healing him... Is Dad really that hurt? Can Bloom help him fully recover?' After another moment of waiting in silence Musa breathed a sigh of relief when she saw her father start to relax and breath softly. Once Musa noticed that her father no longer looked in pain she saw that the orange glow start to fade away as well. Even after the glow was gone everyone waited for Bloom to say the first word.

"Well he's going to need a couple more treatments, but he will mainly just feel sore and ridged for a while. I managed to repair most of the serious damage that he took. But he will make a full recovery as long as he takes it easy for a while." Musa sighed in relief and hugged Riven as everyone around them cheered at their victory. Sky went over and helped Bloom stand up. Sky was a bit worried when Bloom looked a bit shaky as she got to her feet. "You ok Bloom? You look a little pale" Sky said as he held Bloom close. "Yea I'm alright. I just got up to fast... I guess I used up more energy than I thought..."

Musa overheard this and walked over to her red haired friend. "Bloom how bad was my Dad hurt?" Bloom looked uncertainly at Musa still in Sky's embrace, not sure if she should answer truthfully or not. "Please Bloom I want to know..." Bloom saw that her friend needed to know so she stood up straight, took a deep breath and decided to tell her friend the truth. "His right arm and leg were broken in six places, he had one fractured rib and three bruised ribs, his organs were severely affected from being in the ice coffin it seemed as though they were still slightly frozen, he had fluid in his lungs most likely due to the pneumonia, and a mild concussion." Musa was too shocked to say anything, but she continued to stand tall. 'No wonder he looked like he was in so much pain...'

"How long would it have taken for him to recover for all that without your help?" Riven asked as he wrapped his arms around Musa. "A few months at the very least... but now that I have healed most of his injuries it might take him a month at the very most to fully recover." Bloom said with a smile. "So don't worry Musa, it will be fine... and since he was unconscious and stunned he will most likely not remember any of the pain he would have felt." Musa was happy about that news "You really think he won't remember any of the pain Bloom?" "Yup I'm sure." Musa nodded happily.

"Maybe that is what the guardian of Sirenex meant." Lemmy said. Everyone turned to look at the Selkies floating at the edge of the water. "What do you mean?" Aisha asked her bonded selkie. "Well, remember when you made your wish Aisha?" "Yea. To have Nereus live right?" "Yup. Remember he was severely attacked by Tritannus right? But when you made your wish he was fully healed with no injuries what so ever. Like he was never in battle in the first place." "That's right. He was fine like nothing happened to him… But how does that explain what the guardian said" Aisha asked "Well she said 'Don't be surprised if he was not fully healed.' right?" The Winx nodded in response "Well, that's why… the biggest difference in how Aisha's wish and Musa's wish was made. Aisha was a Sirenex fairy so the wish was able to link with her properly and fully make her wish come true and fully healed Nereus. But since Musa is a Bloomix fairy the wish couldn't fully link with her. So all it did was bring her father back but it couldn't fully heal him." Lemmy finished "Well, It's a good thing that we had Bloom here to help him out then." Aisha stated with a smile. The Winx nodded as they all turned to their leader happy with the outcome of their eventful day.

"Well, let's head back to Domino." Bloom said with a smile as she looked at her tired friends. "I'm sure Daphne and Cari are waiting for us with dinner already set." Everyone cheered up and Stella started to open the portal to Domino. Aisha went to use her powers to levitate her morphix bed and easily transport Musa's father to Domino. The Winx said their goodbyes to their bonded Selkies and they then followed Stella through the portal to Domino for some relaxation and refreshments.

* * *

"Hey Daphne how much longer do you think Bloom and everyone will take to come back?" Cari asked the Crown Princess of Domino as she was reading a book on the sofa in the Great Room "I'm sure they will be back soon Cari. But in the meantime you should take the time to concentrate more or you will regret it." Cari gave a little pout "I am concentrating. I want to be praised by Bloom and Sky when they get back... do you think they will be impressed?" Daphne nodded as she closed her book to look at the young girl. "Of course they will. I know I was impressed with you. I'm sure they will be more impressed and just as proud." Cari grew so excited and happy that she could barely stay still.

Suddenly a portal opened up in the far end of the room. Cari and Daphne froze and waited in anticipation for the Specialists and Winx to come through. And sure enough Stella and Brandon were the first to step through the portal followed closely by the rest. As soon as everyone was through Stella closed the portal and they all turned to see Daphne stand up and walk over to them. "Welcome back everyone. I hope you fared well in rescuing Musa's father." Bloom stepped forward and hugged her sister "Well, we had a little trouble at first but it all turned out well in the end." Bloom said as she gestured to Musa's still unconscious father on the morphix bed. "What happened? Is he ok?" Daphne said as she looked at Ho-Boe with concern "It's a long story but he will be fine. He just needs some rest." Daphne nodded and before she could say anything else they were interrupted by a hyper little girl.

"Welcome Back Bloom! Welcome Back Sky!" Cari exclaimed. Bloom looked around the room with a bright smile on her face looking for Cari. "I'm home Cari." Bloom looked all over the room but did not see her little charge. "Umm... where are you?" "I'm up here Bloom!" Everyone looked up and saw little Cari floating well above their heads on a pillow. Everyone was too shocked to even speak, suddenly the little girl started to fly directly towards Bloom and Sky. Even though she was extremely shocked at what she was seeing, Bloom instinctively raised her arms to catch the little girl. Once she was close enough Cari jumped off the pillow and into Bloom's outstretched arms.

"Cari! You can fly!?"


	25. Chapter 24: Surprise after Surprise

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I am so sooo sorry that it has taken me soo long to post a chapter... As soon as tax season ended I was forced to go to Ecuador with my grandmother. Let's just say that going on that trip ruined ALL my plans. But the good thing is that I had time at least some time to peacefully write my story... yes don't worry you guys were not forgotten. Since I had no internet in Ecuador I couldn't post anything. But I am happy to say that I am able to post this chapter on time! And I am almost done with the next chapter, if it is not up by later tonight I will post it by tomorrow :-D _

_Anyway please enjoy these chapters and any feedback or critics would be appreciated. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, srthob, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

_P.S. To srthob: I will have Bloom's parents be in more of the story... but a little later on ;-) _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 24  
****Surprise after Surprise**

"Cari! You can fly!?"

Bloom asked with extreme shock once she caught the little girl. At the same time Bloom heard Sky exclaim "Omph!" She turned her head to see that his face had caught the pillow that Cari was flying on. "Oops I'm sorry Sky." Cari said as she noticed where her pillow had landed. "It's ok Cari, no harm done." Sky responded as he removed the pillow from his face. Riven started laughing at the sight of Sky. "Riven… you shouldn't laugh so much… no matter… how funny it looks…" Musa told her boyfriend while trying to stifle a giggle. "I know babe… but think about it… Sky has the fastest reflexes… and he gets easily attacked by a falling pillow…" Riven said in between laughs.

Everyone started laughing at Sky and his defeat by a pillow. "Ok, ok, enough laughing at me… can we get to what's really important here… like the fact that a 5 year old can FLY!" Sky said as he threw the pillow to the closest couch.

That is when everyone stopped laughing and turned to look at the little girl that was flying in the air just a short moment ago. As soon as they turned they saw Tecna right in front of Cari and using her small robots to scan every inch of the small girl. She was using so many that it looked like Cari was covered in crawling bugs.

Bloom felt Cari tighten her grip on her hold. 'She's frightened…' Bloom slightly moved Cari where she was holding her with only one arm, and used the other hand to wave Tecna's little robots away. "Tecna what are you doing? You are scaring Cari." Bloom looked down at the small girl and saw the look of relief when all the robots were gone. "Apologies, Bloom. Apologies Cari. I did not mean to frighten you. I was merely scanning you to make sense of the situation." "What do you mean Tecna?" "Well, Bloom honestly this does not make any sense." Tecna started as her tiny robots flew over to her and downloaded their information into her PDA. "A five year old girl should not be able to fly, especially without wings, yet. Their magic would be far under developed. At most she should be able to levitate small objects like pens or toys. My robots are going to help me confirm her age and magical capabilities because if she is flying then she must be older than she looks. That is the only thing that currently makes sense. Even with everything that you told us earlier there is no way that her 5 year old body can perform such tasks. "

"Actually Tecna, Cari was not flying. She was levitating a pillow she was sitting on, and her focus and control was so strong that she was able to levitate it while she was sitting on it." Daphne said as she stepped forward and patted Cari on the head. "She surprised me too when I saw it for the first time, myself." "Did you teach her how to do that Daphne?" Bloom asked her older sister. "Well Kind of... When you guys left she said she wanted to continue the training you and her started. So I agreed, but after a while of quiet meditation she became restless and wanted to try something new. So I thought that I could teach her how to focus enough to levitate a small pillow. After a while she was able to levitate the pillow, but not the one she was focusing on but the one she was sitting on."

Bloom looked at Cari with pride "Well, that is a nice surprise. I'm very proud of you Cari. That took a lot of focus to pull off, good job." Cari blushed and smiled brightly as Bloom patted her on the head as praise. "Yes, you are a very bright girl Cari. I am sure you will become a skilled fairy, just like Bloom." Sky said with a wink to the young girl. "Really? I can really be as amazing as Bloom?!" The girl asked with twinkles in her eyes. "Sure, you can sweetie. All you need to do is to practice and study, and I will even help you." "Wow thank you Bloom. I can't wait to grow up to be just like you!" Everyone started laughing at the young girl's eagerness, except for Tecna. She was still concentrating on the information being downloaded into her PDA.

"In a few moments I will get the confirmation I need to make sense of this..." Tecna half mumbled to herself as she saw her last tiny robot downloading its last data. "Now let's see... what did my nanobots find out?..." but before anyone started to fully pay attention to her, Tecna was suddenly interrupted by Musa. "Dad?!" Everyone turned to look at Musa and her father. They saw that Ho-Boe was starting to regain consciousness.

"Hmm... what...?" "Dad? Can you hear me? It's Musa..." "Musa? How? Where?" "Shh Dad its ok." Musa responded as she gently pushed her father back down on the bed when he tried to sit up. "We are at Domino castle. How are you feeling?" Once Ho-Boe settled down again, he responded to his daughter's question "Umm... I just feel really sore... and it's hard to move...what happened? I just remember being at the Warf and then... the Trix showed up asking for you!..." Musa looked worried that he was going to recall the pain he felt. "Do you remember anything after that?" Ho-Boe thought for a moment before answering "I remember seeing your mother... but I guess it was just a dream... we talked for a bit and started to sing our song together... but something started calling and pulling me back... I didn't want to go, I wanted to stay... but your mother kissed me... she then told me that you still needed me and that I needed to give you a message... 'I'm proud of you my daughter. Remember to keep your heart and songs pure and don't be afraid to sing your heart's duet with your true love.'... she then pushed me and next thing I know I'm waking up here."

Musa had tears in her eyes at her mother's message and in relief that her father didn't remember anything the Trix did to him. "Don't worry about anything else Dad. You are safe and you will get better soon. Just rest and we will take care of you." Ho-Boe's eyes started to droop as he nodded his agreement "Ok, my daughter... I will just take a short nap then..." Once he fell asleep Musa looked up to Bloom. "Is there anywhere he can rest until he's better?" "Of course Musa, I will show you the way. Do you mind helping out a bit more Aisha?" "No, of course not Bloom, just lead the way." Aisha said with a huge smile as she placed a hand on Musa's shoulder.

"Alright everyone why don't we get cleaned up and get ready for dinner." Everyone nodded their agreement "That's a good idea Bloom. Dinner should be ready in about 30 minutes. They are making a huge full course meal tonight" While still carrying Cari in her arms, Bloom nodded as she turned to lead the way out of the room while everyone cheered in excitement for the dinner.

Tecna was the only one left in the room, still looking at the data that was in her PDA. "Finally everything has been downloaded and processed. I still think it's highly impossible for such a young girl to have enough physical strength to hold up her own weight at all, let alone for that long... Now let's see what was found..." Tecna took a moment to read over everything. "...No this can't be right... how is this possible?..."

* * *

Bloom showed Musa to the room where her father could stay. "Here you are Musa. He can use this room, it's not too far from your room, I'm sure you would want to stay close to him and all." Musa nodded "Thanks Bloom I appreciate it." Once Aisha gently placed Ho-Boe down on the soft bed in the middle of the room she released her Bloomix fairy transformation, as well as Musa and Bloom. Musa then walked over and sat in the chair next to father to hold his hand. Bloom then walked over to the other side of the bed "Musa will it be alright if I do another healing treatment now?" Musa looked up to Bloom with some reluctance in her eyes "Are you sure Bloom? Aren't you tired from the first healing you did for him? I don't want you to overexert yourself, we need you..." Bloom put down Cari and turned to give her musical friend a genuine smile. "We need you too Musa. If the Winx are incomplete then we are so much weaker. You will need to know that your father is fine and not be distracted or we will be incredibly weakened." Musa teared at her friend's words. "Ok Bloom your right. Please go ahead."

Bloom nodded and walked over to the head of Ho-Boe. "Hey Bloom..." Cari whispered while slightly tugging on the end of Bloom's blouse "Yes, sweetie?" "What happened to him? What are you going to do?" Bloom patted the small girl on the head "Well, he got hurt and I'm going to make him feel better." "Wow you can do that? Can I help?" "Sure sweetie, you can help by holding Musa's hand until I'm done. That will cheer her up some, can you do that for me?" "Sure, I can do that!" the small girl ran over to the other side of the bed and grabbed Musa's free hand. "Don't worry Musa, Bloom is going to make things all better." "Your right Cari. She always does." Musa responded with a sweet smile at the child.

Bloom smiled at Cari and then turned to Ho-Boe and held one hand above his head and the other above his chest. She closed her eyes and focused her healing abilities, her hands started to glow. Soon the glow started to spread throughout his body. Musa and Cari waited patiently in silence watching Bloom work. After a few minutes of waiting the glow started to fade.

Bloom slowly started to open her eyes and turned to look at Musa and Cari. "He won't be that sore tomorrow and it will be a bit easier for him to move around." Musa stood up and walked over to her friend and gave her a big hug. "Thank you so much Bloom." Bloom hugged her musical friend back "You're welcome Musa. I will have Meditrina look at him tomorrow and I can give him another healing treatment too. But he will be fine after he rests for a few days." Musa hugged her tighter "Thanks." "No problem. Now don't forget to freshen up before dinner ok?" Musa nodded "I will in a few minutes. I'll see you three at dinner." Aisha who was standing by the door nodded at Musa "You better, especially if they are severing all the good food they say they are." Musa nodded and turned back to her father.

Bloom took Cari's hand and walked over to Aisha and left the room. "You did really well cheering Musa up Cari." Cari smiled brightly at the praise and bounced out the door with Bloom. Aisha waited until Bloom and Cari were cleared of the room and closed the door behind her, but as soon as she turned around she saw Bloom lying on the floor and Cari trying to wake her up. "Oh my gosh! Bloom! Are you ok?!" Aisha ran over to her and knelt down beside her.

Bloom slowly opened her eyes and saw Cari and Aisha looking down at her with worried eyes. "Bloom are you ok?" She raised her arm and patted Cari on the head. "Don't worry sweetie. I'm ok...just felt a bit dizzy is all..." Bloom started to get up, but stopped midway because the room started spinning again. She reached up to place her hand on her head to hopefully stop the spinning, but it didn't work 'I must've used up too much energy… too soon... my head won't stop spinning...'

"Bloom you need to take it easy, you pushed yourself to hard again." Aisha said as she placed a supporting hand on her as she saw that Bloom's breathing was a bit shallow. 'She is trying hard not to pass out again...' "I'm ok... Aisha... I just... need to... to catch ...my breath..." Bloom responded in-between breaths. "Here I'll carry you to your room..." Before Aisha had a chance to conjure up her morphix bed, Sky came running down the hall "Bloom?! What happened?" "Sky, She fainted for a bit... she used up too much of her power again when she gave Ho-Boe another healing treatment... she is still feeling dizzy, and short of breath... I was going to carry her to her room for her to rest..." Sky nodded "Thanks Aisha, but I will take care of her room." he said as he bent down to pick up his fiancé. "Besides, you must be just as tired as well. And I know Roy has been looking for you." Aisha nodded "Ok Sky. Thanks."

Sky turned to head towards Bloom's room with Cari following close behind "Bloom how are you feeling?" "Sky?... I'm ok, just a bit dizzy... and tired... but I feel better now that I'm in your arms..." Sky knew she was telling the truth because now her breathing was slowly returning to normal. "You know that you shouldn't have given another healing treatment so soon after that first one you gave to Ho-Boe..." "Hmm... I know, but Musa was so sad that her father was hurting, and we need her to be focused for what is coming... and I'll be fine I just need some sleep and I'll be back to normal... besides my power is much stronger now… I can handle this"

"Bloom this is unhealthy... you can't just use up power that you are not accustomed to... you don't know how it will affect you later... and we don't like seeing you like this... it hurts us too you know..." Bloom looked at her beloved to see what he really meant by 'we' since she knew that the not all the Winx knew she used up her power again just Aisha and she wouldn't tell. She saw that he motioned to towards the little girl that was following right next to her. She saw pure concern and worry in the tiny girl's crystal blue eyes. "Oo I'm sorry for worrying you sweetie. I'm really ok don't worry..." Bloom looked to Sky again 'Maybe it would be better if I walked on my own...' "Sky you can put me down now." Sky shook his head "No can do, princess. If you want down then you need levitate out of my arms... like Cari..." Bloom teasingly glared at her fiancé. "You know I can't do anything right now, my dear prince." Sky chuckled "I figured as much... so it looks like I win...besides I like carrying you it gives me a chance to have you close..." Sky winked and gave her a quick kiss while still walking down the hall.

Bloom blushed and quieted down at the feel of her love's lips. She blushed deeper red when she heard her little charge giggling at their little display of affection. Bloom looked down and saw that Cari was smiling again and admiring the sight of her and Sky together. 'Well at least she's not worried anymore...looks like Sky said the right thing...' Bloom thought as she glanced at Sky's smug and happy face as he entered her room.

"Hey Cari do you think you can help me out?" "Sure Sky!" "Great. Can you pull the covers on Bloom's bed so I can put her down please." "Ok!" Cari ran over to the bed and pulled the covers ready for Bloom. Sky walked over and set Bloom down on the bed. "Now you are going to rest and recover your energy. Understood?" "But Sky I need to go meet everyone for dinner soon. I can't stay in bed, they will get worried... especially Musa... besides I'm hungry..." Bloom gave Sky her best puppy eyes.

Sky tried his best to not give in to her begging beautiful deep blue eyes, but failed. 'Sigh' "Fine we will go to dinner but you will rest until then. And Cari will make sure you do, right Cari?" "Yes Sky" Cari looked up to Bloom with a serious expression. That was when Bloom knew she couldn't fight her, so she just gave in. "Fine, you win." Sky snickered as he left the room.

* * *

"Well that was a good dinner, wasn't it Cari?" Bloom asked her little charge as they walked back to Bloom's room. "It sure was Bloom! I'm so stuffed from all the yummy food!" Cari said as she bounced up and down in between Bloom and Sky as they walked down the hall hand in hand. The young couple giggled at the small girl's energy. "But I do wonder what happened to Tecna. What do you think Sky?" "Hmm... I'm not sure Bloom. Timmy said that she was working on something important and couldn't leave her computer for so long. That is why he took her a plate so she can at least eat something while she was working." "Maybe I should go check on her?... She might need help or something..." "You can check on her in the morning my love. Right now you should rest yourself, you did overexert yourself again today." Sky said as he embraced Bloom right outside her door, and gave her a gentle kiss. They broke the kiss when they heard a little giggle. "Awww you guys are so cute!" Cari squealed "Do you think I will fall in love like you guys one day?" Sky chuckled as he quickly lifted the small girl off the ground. More giggles echoed throughout the hallway as the three of them laughed together. "Isn't it a bit too early for you to be thinking about boys, little one?" Cari giggled some more as Sky quickly spun her around. "It's never too early or too late for love." Bloom and Sky were speechless for a moment. "Such wise words from such a tiny fairy." Bloom said with a bright smile.

Cari giggled some more at her praise, before yawning very loudly. "Aww looks like it's time for someone's bedtime." "But I'm not…yawn… tired..." Cari said with drooping eyes. Bloom outstretched her arms for the small girl. "Here I will take her to bed. Thank you for walking me to my room Sky." he handed over the small child to his beloved fiancé. "Make sure you get some sleep as well my love... promise?" "I promise my handsome prince." Bloom reached up and gave Sky a quick kiss. "I shall see you bright and early in the morning." Sky smiled lovingly and nodded. "Til the morning my beloved princess." Bloom walked into her room and got herself and Cari ready for a good night's sleep.

* * *

Bloom was restless all night long, worried about Tecna. 'What could possibly be so important that she would skip out with dinner with us... she has never been so busy that she didn't make time for us... maybe I should go check on her...' She looked at her clock and saw that it was four o'clock in the morning. 'Well, Sky did say that I should wait until morning... and it is technically morning...' Bloom slowly started to get up but found that she couldn't move. She looked down and saw that Cari's tiny hand was gripped onto her nightgown. 'I'm falling more in love with this tiny girl... but I shouldn't get too attached... once we find her parents we will have to go out separate ways...' Bloom caressed Cari's small face and tucked a loose strand behind her ear. 'I shouldn't think about this now... I should go check on Tecna for now...' Bloom managed to free herself from Cari's grasp, placed a pillow to act as a replacement while she was away, and slowly got up from bed.

Bloom slowly snuck out of her room so she would not wake Cari. Bloom rushed down the hall to the room that Tecna was staying in. As she got halfway down the hallway she saw someone coming towards her. "Tecna?" Bloom whispered as the familiar figure got closer. "Bloom? What are you doing so early in the morning?" "I was actually coming to check on you. I was worried about you... it isn't like you to skip out on dinner with us..."

"Well, I was working on something important and I actually found a very surprising... and I was wondering how to tell you..." "What was it you found that surprised you so much? Is it about Eldus and the Trix?" "Well, that's the thing I'm not exactly sure... but it's about Cari... I think we were wrong about who she is... or even what she is..."


	26. Chapter 25: The Gem of Lilith

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be appreciated. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, srthob and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 25  
****The Gem of Lilith **

"What was it you found that surprised you so much? Is it about Eldus and the Trix?" "Well, that's the thing I'm not exactly sure... but it's about Cari... I think we were wrong about who she is... or even what she is..."

Bloom looked at Tecna in confusion. "What do you mean Tecna? Cari is just a lost little girl... what is wrong with her?" Tenca hesitated in answering her friend because she knew how much Bloom felt for the small girl, she was scared of what will happen if she had this wrong. The only thing was, Tenca knew she wasn't wrong, she ran the numbers so many times and so many different ways... all with the same conclusion. Now she had no choice but to be straight with her friend and hope she is doing the right thing in telling Bloom the truth.

Tecna took a deep breath before speaking "Bloom, before anything I want you to know that I ran through all the numbers ten times and researched all night before coming to this conclusion. But no matter how hard I tried to prove my calculations wrong, it always gave me the same result." Tenca paused to see if Bloom would say anything but when she said nothing she continued. "I think Cari is not who we think she is... I don't know if she is innocent or not, but the timing of her arrival is very hard to ignore... And it didn't help that I couldn't find a record of a 'Calida Cari' born anywhere on this planet... or on any planet in this universe. And when I scanned her earlier to see how old she is... technically, she is not 5 years old... she is actually only about a week old...She only appears to be 5 years of age…... She was created around the time that Eldus was revived and you were cursed..."

Bloom looked towards her friend with shocked, confusion, anger, and fear in her eyes. She was shocked because she couldn't believe what Tecna discovered. She was confused because it didn't make any sense to her, but she knew that Tenca was never wrong when it came to her calculations, especially when she did them over so many times. And she was angry because Tecna had a point, the time that Cari appeared is highly suspicious. Eldus could've created her and is using her as a spy, if that was true she wanted to get back at Eldus. And she was scared because if Cari was a spy she would have to send her back to Eldus or she might hurt her family and friends, but she had fallen in love with the young girl, she knew then that she never wanted to say goodbye. But it would tear her apart if it was true that she was with Eldus. 'But if she's not with Eldus then how did she come to be?... She must be so lonely without a family...'

Tecna was not sure what to do at that point. She saw her friend going through a lot of emotions and Tenca was not sure how to help her with that, since she was still awkward with these kinds of things. So right now she just waited trying to think of what to do next. After a short moment Tecna grew more worried since Bloom looked like she was getting pale and her eyes losing focus, though it was a bit hard to tell in the dimmed hallway. She rushed over to her friend and gave her support when she looked like she was going to fall "Bloom are you ok? Do you want to go sit down or something?" Tenca asked.

"Tecna... are you sure? She is just an innocent girl... Are you sure she doesn't have anyone?" 'She cares so much for that girl, she is only looking for that girl's best interest even when there's a chance she's an enemy... I hope that she is truly on our side...' "I am sure that anyone under the name of 'Calida Cari' does not exist. But if you want I can do a biological scan... it could be that she was born under a different name. And it won't hurt to pursue all possibilities." Tecna said in hopes that it will give hope to her friend. Bloom slowly nodded 'Yea, she might've been born under another name... but if she wasn't what will happen to her?' "Yes Tecna please check to see if she has any biological family out there..." "ok Bloom I will... but do keep in mind everything I told you." Bloom slowly nodded her agreement. "Let's get you back to your room ok?" Bloom stood straight again and with Tecna's help walked back to her room.

"Thanks for everything Tecna... you should go get yourself some rest too." Tecna nodded "I will Bloom. Tomorrow I will grab the DNA I need from Cari..." "Ok… thanks Tecna" Bloom said as she slowly turned into her room and closed the door behind her.

'I hope I find someone who is related to Cari... for Bloom's sake...' Tecna turned and left to go to her room to rest.

Bloom walked over to her bed and saw Cari still sleeping soundly and gripped tightly to the pillow that she used to be her replacement. Bloom smiled sweetly at the little girl before her. 'O sweet little Cari, I don't believe that you are evil, there is no way... But what will happen to you if we can't find where you belong? You will be all alone in the world... and I'm not sure if I can be there for you when you need me... especially with Eldus out there... I have already fallen once against him... I most likely will fall again in the end... but I will be sure to take him down with me... he will not harm you, Sky or anyone ever again.'

Bloom woke up and reached out to hug Cari tightly. When she couldn't feel her she woke up startled. "Cari?!" "Good morning Bloom. You are just in time to see the sun rise. Look!" Bloom looked over and saw Cari by the large window, kneeling on the bench she had along the bottom of the window. Cari was right when she said that she was just in time to see the sun rise. It was a beautiful and clear morning as the rays of the early morning sun entered Bloom's room. But what captivated Bloom more wasn't the breath-taking sunrise, but how the light of the sun affected Cari. With her hair out of her high pigtails, it was blowing behind her with the gentle breeze that was coming in through the window. The way her hair caught the sunlight made her light red hair look like a gentle but strong flame. Even the purple streaks in her hair looked like ribbons dancing within the flames; it was so elegant and beautiful.

"Isn't it so pretty Bloom?" Cari asked as she turned around to look at Bloom. Bloom gasped at how Cari's eyes looked in the sunlight. Her crystal blue eyes began to glow and her eyes became almost white, it was mesmerizing; she looked like a divine being.

After a short moment Cari looked at Bloom with slight concern in her eyes. "You ok Bloom?" That shook Bloom out of her trance. "Sorry sweetie, it seems like I'm still half asleep. But you were right that was a sight to see." Cari smiled once more jumped off the bench and skipped over to Bloom, she then jumped on top of her in a big hug. "I hope we can see many more sunrises together." Bloom returned the embrace with such love and care that it made Cari look up with awe filled eyes. She looked up to see Bloom looking down at her with just as much love and care that she felt in the hug. It made her feel that she belonged right there, in Bloom's arms. "Me too, baby. Me too."

* * *

It was taking Tecna's program a while to do the biological scan of the magical universe based on the strands of hair that Cari gave her. So while it was working Tecna helped Daphne do research to find out which artifact Eldus and the Trix will go after next. It was already lunch time before Daphne and Tecna found the answer they were looking for: The artifact that would best suit Stormy and her powers.

They were excited but worried at the same time over their find. They were excited that they had finally found what they were looking for, but they were worried because they were still unsure of its location and they didn't know if Eldus did or not. As they walked to meet everyone for lunch they were talking about the only hint that they found and hoped that someone knew what it was talking about.

They went outside to the large patio where the staff set up a nice and relaxing garden lunch. Tecna and Daphne were the first ones to arrive to lunch. They were surprised by this since it was already 1 PM and lunch was arranged to have started by then. "I wonder where everyone is." Daphne asked as she looked around. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind, lifted high above the ground and then spun around. She let out a yelp of surprise at first, but soon started to giggle happily when she recognized the embrace of her beloved husband. Once he let her down after two spins, she immediately turned around and gave him a tender kiss "Hello to you too, Thoren." Daphne said with a giggle. Right behind Thoren, the rest of the Specialists and Winx were walking towards them.

Tecna walked over to Timmy and gave him a sweet kiss when she reached him. "We were wondering where you guys were. We are used to be the last ones to arrive to meals, not the firsts." Tecna said with a giggle. "Sorry we were distracted in our training." Bloom said. "Oh? Were you guys trying a new group maneuver? I should be able to train after lunch so you can teach it to me." "Don't worry Tecna, we haven't tried training our new maneuver yet. We were waiting for you join us so we could work on it together. We were just doing our regular training, but then a little fairy wanted to join us. And then we all just got caught up in helping her with her martial arts training then with her magical focus." Bloom said with a proud smile. "Oo wow. You are working hard aren't you Cari?" Daphne asked with a smile. Cari nodded "Yup! Everyone is teaching me lots of things!" "And we all love training such a fast learner." Sky commented with a wink. Cari blushed at her praise at the same time Riven said:

"Especially with me as your teacher. Right, Cari? Under my tutelage you will be an even greater fighter!" He said excitedly while taking out his boomerang and started to wave it around. "Wow! Are you really that amazing Riven?!" Cari asked with bright eyes. "Of course! Why would you think otherwise?" Cari shrugged "Well you did keep falling for the obvious traps during the obstacle course, and you lost to Timmy and Helia multiple times when sparing, and you even got hit by your own boomerang during practice..." Cari said with the innocent honesty every child has.

Everyone erupted into laughter at the child's honesty. "Wow Riven, you really hit yourself with your own boomerang? I thought you were an expert with that weapon." Musa said with laughter in her eyes. Riven slightly blushed at the fact that he couldn't deny anything the child said. "Well babe, I am amazing with my boomerang but no matter how good I get I can't help but freeze and become memorized when I see you singing and flying elegantly like you were during practice. Next time you should give me some warning so I won't throw my boomerang and then get hit in the face while I stare at you." Riven said to Musa with a wink. Musa blushed deeply at his words and couldn't believe them to be have been said by her serious boyfriend. "I-I don't think I have that much of an effect on you." She stuttered while averting her eyes in embarrassment. Riven grabbed her chin so she had to look to him. "You have no idea how much of a hold you have on me babe." Riven said with such honesty as he bent down and gave a quick sweet kiss on Musa's lips.

Everyone couldn't believe Riven's public display of affection. So they all just stared at the musical couple, speechless and with mouths open in shock. "Aww That is so sweet and romantic! I had no idea that Riven was this much in love with Musa to be so romantic! I thought he didn't how to be romantic." Cari said as she bounced up and down clapping her hands. "We had no idea either." Practically everyone said in unison. Riven turned to face everyone and just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, while Musa just blushed a scarlet red.

"Well now that the show is over, let's eat. I'm starving." Riven said as he grabbed Musa's hand and walked over to the big lunch table with the delicious looking meal that the castle staff arranged for them.

* * *

Once everyone finished their lunch and was just relaxing and enjoying each other's company, Daphne stood up and addressed the group. "Well guys good news and bad news that Tecna and I have to share." She started as Tecna stood up and walked over to stand beside Daphne. Tecna typed something into her PDA and as she prepared the hologram projector.

"The good news is: we know the next artifact that the Trix and Eldus will be after..." Daphne nodded at Tecna who pressed a few more buttons and an image appeared on the hologram. "This is the Gem of Lilith." Everyone looked at the picture of the Gem. It was a dark blue medium sized gem with light blue streaks coming from the center, which looked like lightning bolts. It was on a thick black chain with three small purple beads on each side. "It looks like an ordinary dark blue gem necklace. Are you sure this is the right one? The other ones were more extravagant looking... they obviously looked valuable and important." Roy asked. Daphne and Tecna both nodded "You are right Roy. The design for this artifact is simple compared to the other two." Tecna displayed both the Diamond of Isole and the Tear of Achlys on either side of the Gem of Lilith.

Everyone saw what Roy was talking about. The Diamond of Isole was a large diamond that was as big as your hand. It was centered on Onyx gem that was forged into the shape of a black widow spider, and with eight small red rubies for eyes. While the Tear of Achlys was slightly smaller than the Diamond of Isole, but it was just as beautiful. Its tear shaped Benitoite gem was surrounded by two rows of small aquamarine rounded gems. The design made it look like the smaller gems were keeping the large gem from escaping its confines. They were both very extravagant yet foreboding looking gems, and the Gem of Lilith looked very simple and plain next to them.

"But just because this artifact looks plain and powerless doesn't mean that it is any less powerful than the other two. According to legend it has a plain design for a reason." Daphne started. "The owner of this artifact, was a young fairy guardian named Lilith. She was a gentle and calm, yet strong, guardian of a peaceful and pretty world. But like any world from many centuries ago, her world changed and needed to evolve to become better. She had tried for many years to keep the changes from happening because she was a young fairy that feared change more than anything. She was afraid that her world would no longer be peaceful or inhabitable, since she had seen it happen to a neighboring world. Unfortunately, because she tried so hard to keep the inevitable from happening it all burst at once. Volcanoes erupted, earthquakes broke the earth apart, tsunamis washed away towns, and hurricanes and tornadoes with tremendous thunderstorms ravaged her world. That was the moment where she had no choice but to face the truth... that her world was changing and she could do nothing to stop it.

She had managed to gather most of the people of her world to the least devastated part of their planet and hid in a cave for shelter. They started to make plans to escape to one of their moons for the time being. The only problem back then, is that it took a lot of magic to teleport such a large group of people anywhere, and since they were going to their moon it took even more time to focus all that magic to use for that distance. Lilith and the other fairies of her planet decided to teleport small groups of people at a time, as fast as they could, instead of everyone at once. Everything was going smoothly until a storm hit their area. The thunder and lightning hit close to their cave multiple times, after a few scares their fear reached a new high when they saw the hurricane that was headed straight for their shelter. It was still a distance away from them but they were able to see that it was destroying all the other rock formations and caves that were in its way. Lilith knew that if it made contact with their cave then they would not survive and they needed more time to evacuate the rest of the people off world.

That was when Lilith made a decision to do all in her power to provide enough time for her people to escape. Her fellow fairies tried to stop her but she convinced them that this was her destiny, that this was the reason why her name meant the 'Storm Goddess'. She believed that she would be able to stop this approaching storm, and she made everyone believe it too. She had everyone else help with the evacuation and evacuate themselves once everyone was cleared, since she was one of the few who had the power to teleport herself off world on her own they knew she would be fine on her own.

Once everyone agreed to her orders she went out and faced the crazed storm. She tried everything she could think of to keep the storm at bay or even dispel it, but she didn't seem to have any effect on it. After she was thrown back again for the fifth time she slightly lost consciousness, but it was that blow that made her realize: if she couldn't force it away or back then she will seal it away. And that was what she did... she practically used up all her energy to seal away as much of the storm as she could. Once it was sealed the Gem of Lilith was created, it was beautiful but dangerous gem. Luckily everyone had evacuated except for Lilith's friends who came to check on her. They found her unconscious a few feet away from the cave they were in. Once they had her, they teleported to the moon where everyone else was waiting for them.

When Lilith awoke a couple of days later she still had the gem grasped in her hand, and only her friends knew of the power that the gem held. Once she had recovered she began training with the gem and she became even more powerful using the power from the vicious hurricanes and thunderstorms that helped destroy their home. The only problem with becoming powerful: you gain enemies that want your power.

Many failed in retrieving her gem, but this dark mage grew very jealous of the power she possessed so he decided that he wouldn't take Lilith's gem away but curse it instead. Since she had adorned her gem with other exquisite gems it was obvious how precious and valuable it was, more so as she wore it pinned on her chest. During the fight with the dark mage he placed an evil curse on the obvious target that was her gem. The curse made it so it would take any storm-like energy from nature or a magical being and go haywire. Since Lilith's powers had storm-like properties she could no longer use the gem in battle, but she was able to keep it under control as long as she had peace of mind. That was when she changed how the gem appeared, before it was just as extravagant as the other two but after it was cursed she feared that evil beings would easily find it and use it against her. So she made it appear like a simple accessory that anyone could have in order to keep it hidden in plain sight without anyone giving it a second glance.

When Lilith time came close to passing she knew she had to entrust her gem to someone who would not abuse its power and keep it hidden. She decided to give it to her niece who had the best control and most peaceful mind, much like herself. Since then it was unsure where the gem ended up. Now the only hint that we found that could lead us to Lilith's family would be this engraving found in our archives under the gem's story." Daphne nodded to Tecna who nodded in return as she displayed the engraving on the hologram in underneath the picture of the Gem.

Everyone read: "The Storm riders, who sail the hurricanes and race the lightening will keep watch over my gem. We alone have the power to keep the gem of the changing, wild storm to be docile and gentle. It will be hidden in plain sight with none the wiser."

"Well that does not help us look for the gem at all." Riven complained. Everyone started to nod their agreement when they were interrupted "Actually this tells us everything we need to know to find the gem... or at least to find the person who would most likely know its whereabouts." Everyone turned to see the King and Queen enter the room

"Who is this person, Mom? Do you know them?" Queen Miriam nodded "Yes, my dear Bloom I know her very well. And you all do too... unfortunately you might not be happy to find out who it is though..." The Queen said as she waved her hand and she sent an image to Tecna's PDA to be displayed on the hologram. Once it was displayed everyone gasped and stared open mouthed at the image before them.


	27. Chapter 26: The Unexpected Protector

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Im reallyyyy sorry guys. I know I am superrr late in posting this, but I had a major case of writer's block. But after watching Winx Club for like a week straight I finally got my writing spirit back. _

_So, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be appreciated. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, srthob, Rose Teniza, mia and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 26  
****The Unexpected Protector **

"Yes, my dear Bloom I know her very well. And you all do too... unfortunately you might not be happy to find out who it is though..." The Queen said as she waved her hand and she sent an image to Tecna's PDA to be displayed on the hologram. Once it was displayed everyone gasped and stared open mouthed at the image before them.

It took a moment for anyone to recover from their shock. It took a small voice to shake them back to reality. "Bloom, who is that lady? Do you know her? Why did everyone get so quiet?" Bloom slightly shook her head to clear it and looked down to Cari. "Umm… yes sweetie we all know her. We are just very shocked that she is the one who has been protecting the gem all this time." "Is she mean? Will she help you?" "Mean?! More like very beyond strict!" Stella responded to the young girl's question. "I don't think that she will be all that willing to help us. It's not like we were always on her good side." "Especially you, Stella. You were always getting on her bad side, practically every day at that." Musa said with a teasing smile. "Hey it's not my fault that she was stuck in the old ways and never got with the modern times." Stella said as she crossed her arms and slightly pouted while everyone laughed.

Once everyone calmed down a bit Bloom looked to her mom "But mom are you sure that she is the one we are looking for? How do you know for sure?" The queen smiled as she answered "Because of her family's name my dear. She is the last descendent of the Stormryder's main family." "Well, it would've been obvious to us too if we ever knew her last name…" Stella remarked. "But that is a good point Stella, how come we didn't know her last name." "Well, she tends to mainly use her father's name and keeps her mother's family a secret from others except for those she really trusts. I never knew why until now." Miriam shrugged as she answered Bloom's question.

"Well, that makes sense especially if she really is protecting the Gem of Lilith it would be safer if no one knew that she was the only one with the knowledge to the location of such a powerful gem." Aisha commented. Bloom nodded her agreement as she said "Well it looks like first thing tomorrow morning we are going to pay her a visit."

* * *

Once they wrapped up their meeting they all went to the training grounds. As the Winx tried a new maneuver that Aisha thought of, Cari was practicing how to use a bow and arrow with Sky. "Hey Sky, how come I can't learn how to use a sword?" "Because you are still so small and your body will not be able to handle that difficult training." Cari gave Sky her pouty face "But I can handle it. I'm strong enough to do the training." Sky knelt down to be eye level with the small girl "No, Cari I will not teach you close combat at your age. Because of the dangers that are coming we want you to at least be able to defend yourself if the worse comes to worse. And with a bow and arrow you can keep the enemy at bay from a safe distance. Besides, I cannot see you get into face to face combat with anyone yet, I am too young to get a heart attack." Cari looked at him with awe and determination. "But I really want to learn." Sky scratched the back of his head 'Sigh' "If you still want to use a sword when you are much, Much older then I will teach you. Until then the bow and arrow is what you will use. Ok?" Cari smiled at the thought of being taught when she was older, so she just nodded and gave Sky a hug. "Ok, Sky."

Sky gave Cari a tight squeeze and patted her on the back before letting her go. "Now let's see if you can get the arrow even slightly close to the target by dinner." He said with a friendly wink. Cari jumped back and grabbed another arrow with determination shining in her blue eyes. "I'll show you that I can!"

* * *

Bloom looked on lovingly as she looked at Sky and Cari practicing with the bow and arrow. She smiled even brighter that even her eyes sparkled with pride as she saw Cari steadily doing better after every other attempt. 'She looks so cute holding a bow that is bigger than her. I'm surprised she is able to shoot her arrow so far already.' Bloom thought before she was suddenly interrupted.

"Bloom watch out!" Aisha yelled at her. Everyone turned to look at the blast that was about to hit Bloom from behind. "Oh no she's gonna get hit again." Stella commented as she started to fly as fast as she could towards her best friend. But she stopped dead when she saw Bloom slightly turn towards the blast right before it made contact. What surprised Stella wasn't the fact that Bloom didn't even try to move, but it was the fact that she saw Bloom's eyes turn white before she erected a large shield. 'What was that? I've never seen her eyes glow like that before…' Stella thought while everyone stared speechless at their leader. "Bloom how did you put up that large barrier? Normally one would need to call out the spell's name and a few seconds in order to summon one that large, but you did that instantaneously without saying a word" Tecna asked as she and the rest of the Winx flew to Bloom.

"Umm… I'm not exactly sure. I just saw it coming and thought about my barrier. Next thing I know it, it just appeared." Bloom responded with a shrug. "Did you know that your eyes glowed white right before the barrier came up?" Stella asked "They did?" Stella nodded her response. "Well, this could be part of your new powers Bloom." Daphne stated "You have gotten more powerful and just as a flame gets stronger the lighter the flame's color becomes. Right now it seems that your powers have reached an extremely high level and your inner flame reflects it." "Wow, that's great Bloom!" Flora said excitedly "Yea, with some more training we may be able to defeat Eldus and the Trix without any problems." Aisha exclaimed.

"Well, then let's get back to practice then to be at our best to defeat Eldus!" Bloom said as she cheered with her friends and sister, while silently thinking 'I will make sure that I get used to these new powers… that way I will know that I can keep all of you safe at least…'

* * *

The Winx, Specialists, the King and Queen were all enjoying their dinner and talking casually amongst each other. In the middle of dinner Bloom noticed that Cari's eyes were sparkling as she was intently staring at something as she was absentmindedly chewing her food. 'Now what has sparked her interest?' Bloom thought before she asked the small girl. "You know if you don't pay attention like that you will end up eating all the asparagus that you dislike so much." At that Cari blinked back to her plate and saw that she was just about to put a huge piece of asparagus in her mouth. 'That was a close one… how many have I eaten? Theyre less than before…' Cari worriedly thought. She looked up as she heard Bloom giggling at the new expression on the small girl's face. It made Cari start giggling too.

"Now what had you so distracted, sweetie?" Cari slightly blushed and turned back to look at what she was staring at moments before. "Your parents are sooo much in love, it was just sooo romantic…" Bloom looked to her parents to see that they were feeding each other and kissing in-between bites, they lived in their own little world during dinner. The scene made Bloom giggle once again. "You really like to look at very lovey-dovey scenes don't you Cari?" Bloom said as she gently teased the girl. Cari blushed "Yea, every type of loving expression I see I can't help but stare and take it in. It's like I absorb some of the love they are giving off and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's just an amazing feeling." Bloom was surprised by the small girl's response. Before she could question further, Cari asked a question of her own.

"Hey Bloom why do we have to wait until early morning to go she the gem's protector? Why couldn't we go earlier?" "Well, sweetie we remember her schedule from when we were younger, and knowing her it hasn't changed even after all this time. So that means that she will be very busy after lunch and her only real free time would be early morning before lunch time. And we want to make sure that we have plenty of time to talk to her before she goes off following her very strict schedule. Besides if she is the person we are looking for we don't want to get on her bad side right from the beginning."

"Is she really that scary?" "Yup, she's scary, uptight, and pretty much just no fun at all." Stella said to the young girl as she rolled her eyes. "Well, her job is to keep order not to make friends." Tecna said. "But she could do to lighten up a bit more, it might make her look younger and not such a stick-in-the-mud" "Now, now Stella remember we need to get on her good side tomorrow so don't get her on her bad side right from the beginning." 'Sigh' "Yea, yea I know Bloom. I'll behave." Stella said with a pout as she finished off the last bite of her dessert.

"Good now with that I think we all should head to bed. It is getting late and you all have an early morning." Queen Marion said as she stood up and gently clapped her hands. "Your right mom. And it is someone's bed time anyway." Everyone looked where Bloom was smiling gently to and saw that Cari was starting to nod off on her half eaten dessert. Bloom bent down and started to pick up the small girl. "Come on sweetie let's get you to bed." She stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder "Here Bloom. I will carry her back for you." Sky said as he gently picked up the small girl in his arms. "Hmm… but I'm not sleepy…" Cari mumbled with a big yawn and closed eyes. Bloom giggled "Oo yes you are. Now to bed with you."

With that everyone followed Bloom and Sky out of the dining room. They all said their good nights and headed to their rooms to prepare for an early morning.

* * *

"Thank you Sky for carrying Cari for me." Bloom said as she pulled the covers from the bed for Sky to tuck Cari in. "Of course. Besides I like holding on to her. I feel like she belongs with me… with us…" Bloom was shocked at what Sky had just said. "I know, I know… it's still too early to be thinking like taking on a kid since we are only just engaged and all… it was just a passing thought." Bloom stepped forward and gave Sky a sweet kiss "O Sky. I feel the same way. I truly feel that she belongs with us. I don't know why but I feel like I …like we need to always protect her…that she is like the essence of our love together…" Bloom looked down at the small child sleeping and sadness crossed her eyes. "But we shouldn't get our hopes up… she most likely has a family waiting for her somewhere… and Tecna will find them sooner or later… so when we find them we will have to part…" Bloom looked up to Sky and saw the same sadness at the thought of Cari leaving them. Bloom gently caressed her fiancé's "Besides maybe it would be better if she wasn't affiliated with us… with me…" Sky looked at her with confusion "What do you mean Bloom?" She shrugged "Well, I am the leader of the new Company of Light, and there are many enemies after me and the Winx… she'll be in danger many times if word gets out that she's important to us…" Bloom looked down and away from her love before continuing. "Besides, I might not make it after the battle with Eldus…"

Sky grabbed her hand and lead her out of the room and softly closed the door. He took a deep breath before turning around to face his love "What do you mean Bloom? Of course you are going to win AND survive the battle with Eldus, just like you win every battle you have fought. We will get married and grow old together… Now tell me why you would even think that you won't make it past this battle?!" Sky said in a loud whisper. Bloom crossed her arms in a way to protect herself from the feelings that were swirling around in her. "I'm know I can win but I'm not sure if I can walk away from it… I mean Queen Jeanne was much stronger than me and she died… and when I meet with my guardian dragon I felt like he was trying to keep something from me… and since he has been practically telling me everything why would he always have a look of pity and some regret in his eyes? The only reason I can think of is that he knows that I won't make it and I won't have a happily ever after like I truly want…" Sky saw that Bloom was having a hard time saying her deepest fears to him and wondered what he could say that would erase her fears.

Bloom saw Sky conflicted on what to say 'Sigh' "I know that I could run away or just not push myself as hard as I should, just to have a chance to survive, but how can I even think that? If I don't go all out then you all will be in danger… I will not have the ones I love be hurt by Eldus again, no matter what it takes. I will make sure you all are safe. I will make sure that Eldus can never hurt you again. I will win, even at the cost of my life!" Sky saw how serious Bloom was and how much thought she put into all this, especially from the way her eyes started to glow light red.

He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in to a hug. "Bloom, Queen Jeanne died because she fought Eldus ALONE. You won't be alone you have the Winx, you have the Specialists… you have me, and I will never leave your side… if you leave this world know that I will be right behind you." Bloom pushed back and looked up to Sky's blue eyes "No! If you die then everything I have done or will do, will be for nothing. You cannot die!" "And I cannot live without you!" Bloom paused and started to tear at the thought of her love leaving this world, flash backs of his near death experience started to come back to her. 'Sigh' "Sky …you must promise me that you will live! I need you to live… if not for me than for Cari… if she has no home to go to she will need you, or she will be sent to an orphanage and be all alone in the world… She will need at least one of us to be by her side…" Sky tensed at mention of Cari's name "But I need you by my side… promise you will… forever"

Bloom reached up and gave Sky a quick kiss. "I know my love, but at this time I cannot promise you anything. The past tells me one thing, but I think that future is still unsure. But I know one thing at least: I will win against Eldus and you all will be safe." 'Sigh' "Then at least promise me that you will try your best to stay alive… please? Just like the Sacred Dragon told me when you came out of the forest… the future is not set in stone… there is a chance that we will live happily ever after… and I have a feeling it is a very high chance…" Bloom hesitated for a quick moment before reaching up and gently cupping Sky's face. "Ok Sky I promise that I will do my very best to stay alive." Sky embraced her in a loving hug. "I love you Bloom… So much…" "I love you too Sky."

They shared a long sweet kiss before Bloom opened her bedroom door and said "Good night my beloved." "Good night, my beautiful princess." Bloom smiled sweetly before slowly closing the door. She turned around and saw little Cari sound asleep in her bed, right where they tucked her in. Bloom walked closer and bent down to give the child a sweet kiss on the head. "I love you, sweetie" "Hmm… love you too… mommy…" Bloom was so shocked to hear those words. She was so happy but sad at the same time. She truly wished to be the child's mother, but with Eldus still at large she knew that being a mother might never happen for her. Tears started to fall down her face. 'I might not have a chance to find your true family let alone have a chance to see you grow up'

Bloom crawled into bed and hugged Cari as she fell into restless sleep.

* * *

"Alright! Is everyone ready?" Stella exclaimed as she prepared the portal. Everyone nodded as they stepped closer towards Stella. "Have a safe trip everyone!" King Oritel said as he and his queen waved goodbye to the Winx and the Specialists. Bloom hugged her parents, goodbye. "We'll be back soon." "Ok dear send my regards." "I will mom."

Bloom knelt down to face Cari who was standing next to the queen. "You take care sweetie, ok?" "Bloom can't I go with you? Please?" Bloom looked up to her mom, who just shrugged. "Well, I guess it should be fine. It's not like we are going anywhere dangerous. But you will have to stay close, or you might get lost, deal?" "Deal!" Cari exclaimed as she showed her bright smile. Together they turned and walked towards Sky who was waiting for them by the portal. The three of them held hands as they walked through the portal after the Winx and Specialists.

"Welcome to Alfea the school for young fairies, Cari!" The group exclaimed as they arrived. "Wow this place is amazing!" Cari said as she looked at the large school building in front of her. "Is this really where you learned to use magic, Bloom?" "Yup, I learned everything I know from here." "Wow, your teachers must be amazing!" Bloom giggled at the sparkle in the young girls blue eyes. "Yea, they sure are. Now let's go meet Headmistress Faragonda."

Everyone walked towards her office, and knocked on her door. "Come in." Bloom opened the door and walked in the office followed by the Winx and the Specialists. "Good Morning Headmistress Faragonda. We apologize for disturbing you so early in the morning." "It's alright my dear Bloom. Oo and who might I ask this is?" Bloom looked down at Cari who was standing right behind her. "Go on. Introduce yourself." Cari nodded slowly and stepped from behind Bloom. "Hello my name is Calida Cari, but you can just call me Cari. It is a pleasure to meet you Headmistress Faragonda." "Such a polite young girl. Hmm… you have a very interesting aura around you. I can see great things in your future." "Really? Does that mean I can come study here one day? I want to go to the same school that Bloom did." The headmistress giggled at the small girl's enthusiasm. "Sure my dear. Once you are of age you will have a spot here at Alfea." Cari's smile brightened as she heard those words, she looked up and grabbed Bloom's hand. "Did you hear that Bloom? I can't wait to get older!" "That's great sweetie. You will learn a lot here." Bloom patted the small girl on the head before turning back to the headmistress.

"So, what can I do for you Winx?" Bloom nodded "Actually we needed to talk t-" At that moment there was a knock on the door. "Come in." "Headmistress, I need you to look over these papers…" "Well, speak of the devil…" Stella said with a smirk. "Well, look what we have here. If it isn't the Winx and the Specialists. What can we do for you? I know it has to be important in order to get Stella out of bed this early." Everyone giggled and nodded their agreement with the statement. Stella pouted before answering the assistant Principal's question: "Well, we are actually here to talk to you Ms. Griselda Stormryder."


	28. Chapter 27: The Stormryder Test

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Sorry it has taken me a while to post…I hope you aren't too upset with me. But it has been a busy month for me…with school, work and even Otakon (which was awesome ;-P) _

_So anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be appreciated. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, srthob, Rose Teniza, mia and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 27  
****The Stormryder Test**

"So, what can I do for you Winx?" Bloom nodded "Actually we needed to talk t-" At that moment there was a knock on the door. "Come in." "Headmistress, I need you to look over these papers…" "Well, speak of the devil…" Stella said with a smirk. "Well, look what we have here. If it isn't the Winx and the Specialists. What can we do for you? I know it has to be important in order to get Stella out of bed this early." Everyone giggled and nodded their agreement with the statement. "Well, we are actually here to talk to you Ms. Griselda Stormryder."

Griselda looked at Stella with a raised eyebrow while still looking stern. "Well now, looks like my family's history has been unexpectedly uncovered. Now my question is why are the infamous Winx looking for me? Or the better question should be: why are the Winx looking for the last head member of the Stormryder family? On top of that why have you six been skipping out on your responsibilities? You were only supposed to be absent until Bloom fully recovered." Griselda said with her very serious and scolding tone. "Now Griselda there is no need to give the girls your scary glare. I'm sure they were just about to tell us everything, right girls?"

"Yes, of course Mistress Faragonda. Though it might be a long story." The headmistress just smiled her sweet understanding smile "We have time my dear." Bloom nodded and started from the very beginning.

* * *

"Ready sisters?" "Ready, Icy." Stormy and Darcy responded as they flew closer to the empty Cloud Tower School building, after they saw the last witch leave about an hour ago, with Eldus close behind. "Now Ladies, do tell me how you three expect to pass through the school's barrier. I can sense from here that it will be no easy feat to accomplish." Icy looked slightly back to look at the ancient wizard "Don't worry Eldus, we were once one with the school itself, and we still have that connection. Even though we were locked away for some time the school will recognize its true masters." "Oo you three were imprisoned? How?" Eldus asked with a curious gleam in his eyes.

"Ugh just thinking about it pisses me off" Stormy started "We got locked up in this old story book called the legendarium" "Yea emphasizes on locked…they locked the book shut so it can never be opened ever again." Darcy added. "oo? So how did the clever Trix escape that prison?" "Let's just say that we found a back door in that annoying book that no one thought of." Icy said with an evil grin. "Interesting." Eldus said

"Well here we are." Icy said as they arrived at the edge of Cloud Tower's barrier. "So now what?" Eldus asked. "We should be able to just walk in." Darcy responded. "And if that does not work?" "Then the alarm will go off and we will only have a few minutes to disable the five level alarm before Griffin receives the alarm and comes running back to the school." Icy said calmly. "Oo is that all" Eldus said with a scoff. "But how am I going to 'walk in'?" "We thought about that… we will just surround you with my magic. That way the school will think you are a part of me." Icy said as she held her hand out to Eldus. He raised his hand and placed it in Icy's. As soon as he did he felt as if he was being surrounded by a dark and cold aura. Icy smiled and turned back to face the school "Now let's head on in." Icy said as she took the first steps towards the front doors of Cloud Tower with her sisters close behind her.

* * *

"You all have been through a lot, haven't you? I am just glad that you all were able to come back safely. I am proud of you Bloom for not rejecting another part of your destiny and helping a lost girl find her way. And I am grateful to you Specialists for helping the Winx." Headmistress Faragonda told to the Winx and the Specialists while they all nodded their thanks. "I am impressed that you all held strong against such a strong opponent. Remember to not give in to despair ladies, it seems that this new enemy craves for that." Griselda said with her stern tone and face. "We won't Ms. Griselda. We will defeat Eldus no matter what." Bloom said with a spark of fire glowing in her eyes.

"I am sure you will my dear, Bloom. Now why don't you tell me what brings you all here during such trying times? Or more, why have you come to talk to Griselda?" The headmistress asked. "Well like we mentioned…" Bloom started "…Eldus and the Trix are after powerful artifacts to use to boost up the Trix's powers. Right now they have the the Diamond of Isole and the Tear of Achlys, and currently we suspect that they are after the Gem of Lilith. Which only Ms. Griselda knows the whereabouts of, since she is the last guardian of the Gem that belongs to the Stormryder family. Isn't that right Ms. Griselda Stormryder?" "Hmm… well it looks like you Winx have done your research over which family is the guardian of the Gem of Lilith, but how did you ever know I was the guardian. That information is not recorded anywhere in the magical dimension." Griselda asked as she adjusted her glasses. "My mother told me." "Hmm… that's right she was one of the few who unexpectedly discovered my secret."

"Well, now that that is covered. Where can we find the Gem of Lilith Ms. Griselda?" Stella asked a bit rudely. "Stella…" Aisha scolded. "Well Stella…" Griselda said as she ignored the sun fairy's rudeness "…in order for me to tell you the location of my family's heirloom you will need to do something for me." "Like a test? Like we need to prove that we are worthy to protect the Gem?" Stella asked as she crossed her arms while rolling her eyes "Something like that." Griselda asked with a smirk. Stella stomped her foot down "But we have proven ourselves time and time again! You have seen us protect the magical dimension countless times! You know we are worthy AND capable!" Stella said as she threw her arms up in the air in frustration. "It is a tradition in my family Stella. Usually the guardian will give the Stormryder Test and see if the one in question passes or fails… though no one has ever passed the test. Now, I must pick one of you to do the task I choose; only if you are successful can I give you the Gem of Lilith. But if finding the Gem is of such little importance than you do not need to do it." Griselda finished with a shrug.

"If that is the case I will am willing to take the test on behalf of the Winx Ms. Griselda." Bloom said as she took a step forward and with confidence written on her face. "No, Bloom. If you recall I said that I must pick the one who will take the test." "Then who do you pick?" Bloom asked. Griselda smirked as she looked around the room and looked at each fairy in the eyes for a moment. Once she looked at everyone she slowly turned back to look at the crossed arm pouting sun fairy. "YOU will take my test, Stella." "Fine. Of course you would choose me. I will pass your little test and show you I am worthy." Stella responded with pure determination glowing in her eyes. "Then I look forward to the results Stella." Griselda said with a suspicious grin. "Good when do I start?" Griselda slowly walked over to Stella with the large stack of documents that she still had in her hands. "You can start right now." Griselda said as she placed the documents in Stella's arms a bit drastically.

"Hey! What am I supposed to do with all this?" Griselda took one step back and started to conjure up a notebook that was floating right above her open hands. "This is my schedule with detailed instructions on how to do everything I needed to do today." Stella raised an eyebrow at Griselda "Why do I need your 'to do' list?" "You will need it in order to complete the test." "What is the test exactly?" "You will walk a mile in my shoes, Princess Stella." Griselda started with a huge smile. "You will complete everything on my 'to do' list, timely and accordingly. If you fail at least one task you will fail the test." Stella magically opened the book while it was still levitating in front of her and skimmed over some of the list. "What?! This is a ridiculous amount of things to do! There is no way I can do all this by the end of the day!" Griselda shrugged "This is on the lighter side of my daily routines. So it is a good thing you came so early." "Then what are YOU going to do all day?" "Oo I will walk a mile in your shoes, Stella." Griselda said as she turned to the headmistress "Headmistress Faragonda may I have your permission to take a day off today?" "But of course you can Griselda. I hope you enjoy your day off." The headmistress said with a bright smile "Thank you Headmistress." Griselda said as she started to head out the door at smiled at the dumbfounded faces that she passed. Once she opened the door she paused and looked back at the panic-stricken face on the Princess of Solaria. "Good luck Stella. I shall be watching." Griselda said as she turned once again and walked out the office.

Stella looked to her friends and gave them her 'puppy-dog eyes' "Please girls you just have to help me wi-." Before Stella could finish Griselda opened the door once again "Oo and before I forget. The rest of the Winx and the Specialists are NOT allowed to help you." Griselda smiled as she closed the door once again. "UGH! Seriously?! How am I going to get it all done." "Well, just do your best Stella." Flora said to encourage her blonde friend. "Yea Stella, it should be easier since it seems that she gave you step by step instructions on how to do everything on her list." Aisha said as she took a glance at the book that Griselda left behind. "Yes, and if you keep up with her strict schedule down to the minute it is possible to finish everything on this list with some time to spare… well in theory anyway… hmm… you should probably start soon though…" Tecna said in her attempts to encourage Stella. "Don't worry love, you have acted as Queen before so this should be easier than that. You got this." Brandon said with his confident smile and a wink. "And remember Stella we are all counting on you to succeed. With this Gem we will get one step ahead of Eldus and the Trix. This will be a game changer for us and a huge failure for the Trix." Bloom said with a kind smile "Gee no pressure than."

"Well, then you better get to it then. What is the first thing on the list?" Musa asked. "It says: take the first section of papers (Before the first divider) and have Headmistress Faragonda review and sign the approved documents then after she is done take them personally to each department accordingly and discuss with each head of department about the approved papers and have them understand the terms and conditions." Stella read out loud. "Well, that doesn't sound too hard." "You do know that, that means that you must read the documents in question right?" Techna said. "Ok, still not that bad… how much do I have to read anyway?" Stella put down the giant stack on a chair for a bit until she grabbed everything before the first divider. "Oh my goodness how does she expect me to read all this?!" Stella exclaimed as she held more than half the original stack in her hands. "Well, the faster you get started the faster you can read them Stella." The headmistress said with her hand outstretched for the documents she needed to approve. Stella took a deep breath before stepping forward. "Yes, headmistress Faragonda. Here you go." The sun fairy said as she placed the stack of papers on her desk.

"Well, good luck Stella. We will see you when you finished all of Ms. Griselda's tasks." Bloom said as she and the rest of the group started to head out of the room. "Wait where are you guys going?" "What do you mean Stella? It's not like we can help you in any way with your test." "I know that Tecna but where are you guys going? Back to Domino? You know so I can know where to find you guys once I'm done." "Well, we thought we will stick around campus and help out with the classes we were supposed to help anyway this year." Bloom responded. "And we are going to do some training to hone our skills." Riven said with enthusiasm. "Speaking of which. May we use your training grounds Headmistress Faragonda?" Sky asked. "Of course. Please make yourselves at home and feel free to use any of the equipment as well." "Thank you Headmistress." "You are very welcome Sky." She said with a smile. With that the Winx and the Specialists started to leave the room while saying "Good luck Stella! We are counting on you!"

Once everyone was gone the headmistress slightly cleared her throat "Shall we get started Stella?" Stella sat down across the headmistress while she internally groaned as she nodded her agreement. She leaned towards the stack of documents and started to read the documents that the headmistress was not starting with, while she mumbled to herself "This is going to be a longggg day."

* * *

"Well I am still amazed that we were able to get into this school so easily with such a complex barrier in place." Eldus said out loud as he took another book off the shelves of the Cloud tower and started to aimlessly skim through the pages as the Trix were researching the whereabouts of the Gem of Lilith. "Well we know all the ins and outs of this school. Even the ones that Griffin doesn't really know about." Darcy replied. Eldus whistled a quick tune of how impressed he was before saying "Impressive ladies. So have you all found anything yet?" "We have found a number of books that we need to read through in order to find the Gem of Lilith. So it might take a while before we get any real answers." Eldus turned to look at the girls and the pile of books on the desk behind them. "Well, then it looks like we better get started." "Oo joy studying…my favorite…" Stormy said with sarcasm before picking up a book and flopping down on the nearest coach. "Looks like it is going to be a long day." She said as she opened the book.

Eldus took a book and walked over to the most elegant and biggest single couch in the room, that also happened to be in the farthest part of the room from the Trix and made himself comfortable before opening the book while sighing. 'I wonder if I will have any fun in this era… now that I killed Jeanne and her descendant… who else is there to stand up against me?'


	29. Chapter 28: The Chase

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Jeanne, Meditrina, and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I'm so glad I got this chapter up before my weekend started… I feel like it was too long of a wait if I didn't post before this weekend lol. _

_But I do want to digress for a moment and say: I'm surprised and excited that season 7 of Winx Club has been out. I started watching it… so far I like the plot and how Roxy is more in it now and everything but I really don't like some of the voices… they sound a bit annoying and they should have stayed with the old voice actors. But it's pretty interesting anyway just ignoring the annoying voices now lol. _

_Well, anyway I hope you like this chapter… I tried to make to make it more interesting before another battle. _

_So anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be appreciated. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, srthob, Rose Teniza, mia and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 28  
****The Chase **

"Hi Everyone!" Cari exclaimed as she bounced towards the Winx and the Specialists who were sitting at the large lunch table at the far end of the cafeteria. "Cari! Bloom!" Sky exclaimed as he caught the bouncing little girl who jumped in high towards him and spun in a quick circle as the little girl giggled uncontrollably. Everyone laughed along with them and greeted Bloom as she walked towards them with a large tray of food. She made it to the table as soon as Sky placed the giggling girl on her feet. He stood up straight and held out his hands for Bloom's tray, Bloom smiled as she handed him the tray. "Why thank you my sweet prince." "Of course my beautiful princess." Sky responded as he sweetly kissed her. "How was both of your days?" He asked as he put the tray on the table and they sat down, with Cari in the middle of them.

"I learned a lot in the class that Bloom helped in! I even learned how to make a barrier!" Cari said with excitement. "I was impressed with how quickly she learned how to put up a barrier. She still needs to work on the barriers stability but it will be a very powerful barrier." Bloom said as she handed Cari her food. "Wow, you are such a fast learner. I'm so proud of you." Sky said as he gently patted the small girl on the head. Cari gave him her bright smile and slightly blushed at his praise.

"How was your day Sky?" Bloom asked as she sipped her soda. "Pretty good, Bloom. We got some good training in. Even got some freshman fairies to join us." "Yea, it was great! I even had a quick sparring match with a talented fairy. She made a sword out of wind and was very talented with it. But I won in the end." Riven said with much pride. "Glad to hear that you, a skilled Specialist, were able to take down a freshman fairy." Timmy said. Everyone laughed at the comment, while Riven started to pout with his arms crossed.

"How has your day been, girls?" Bloom asked her friends. "Oo it was great Bloom!" Flora started "The greenhouse has grown some new flowers and has become more beautiful since the last time I was there. I even gave some fairies a tour of the place and showed them how to get a connection to the flowers. I can't wait to see how they grow into beautiful flowers themselves." Flora finished with sparkles of excitement in her eyes. "We're going to have to take a look at the greenhouse later won't we Cari?" Cari nodded her head vigorously while still chewing her food. Bloom smiled warmly at the child as she turned to face her friends again. "How about you Musa? How is your musical café?" "oo Bloom you have to check out the Musical Café. They have really grown since the last time I saw them. You can tell they have been practicing the pieces I left them and even some new ones. I'm so proud of them." Musa said with pride.

"No wonder I sensed the protective barrier was stronger and smoother than before. I can't wait to hear them play." Bloom said as she ate some of her food. "What about you Tecna? Aisha?" "We spent the morning watching the physical training classes and analyzing each fairy's power level and stamina." Tecna started "Then we came up with training routines for each of them and we are going to put them into action in the afternoon training classes." Aisha finished with excitement. "Can we go see that, Bloom?" Cari asked "of course we can, sweetie." "Yay! I can't wait!"

"When's your next class Bloom?" Tecna asked. "It's after lunch…" Bloom looked at her phone for the time. "…Should be in about 15 minutes." "Lunch seemed short this time without Stella." Brandon commented. "Speaking of Stella… Where is she?" Flora asked while looking around the cafeteria. "Yea, it's not like her to miss a meal. She loves food." Bloom added. Next thing they knew it Stella burst into the room, with her hair a mess, clothes dirtied and a dazed looked in her eyes. She slowly made her way to the table where her friends sat and flopped down on a seat next to her fiancée and put her hand on the table without saying a word. After a moment of silence everyone looked at each other and looked back at their blonde friend wondering what to say to her. "Well, looks like you are having a great day so far." Riven said with all the sarcasm he could muster. Everyone turned to glare at the red haired Specialist just in time to see Musa hit her boyfriend on the back of his head. "Riven!" She whispered loudly. "What?" He said as he rubbed the back of his head.

The Winx and Specialists nodded their approval as they turned back to look at Stella again. They saw that Brandon was rubbing Stella's back. "Hey, I saved your favorite burger with all your favorite toppings." He said as he pushed the plate closer to his fiancée. Stella slowly looked up and slowly sat up while reaching up to grab the burger. She took a bite and made a slight face. "It's cold." "No worries I can fix that." Bloom said as she waved her hand and warmed the burger up with her fire. Stella took another bite. "Thanks Bloom." "No problem Stella." Bloom said with a wink. "So has your day been that hard?" Aisha asked after Stella quickly finished off half of the burger. "Ugh it's been horrible. I had to read so many documents and then explain them all, then after that I had to go and approve the reactions in the chemistry department. Let's say that I did not approve the last test reaction." "How come?" Cari asked innocently "Because I want to save the girls from this fashion nightmare! That's why!" Stella said as she motioned to her crazed look attire. "My hair and clothes are ruined! My shoes have ick on them! And I have this nasty smell in my hair that I hope washes out! And what's worse it singed my hair! Magic can't fix that!" Stella complained

"What is the next thing on your to do list?" Flora asked in attempts to distract the sun fairy "Ugh…" Stella complained as she looked at Griselda's notebook "…I have to go to a meeting with Professor Palladium. He wants to go meet up with the witches on their annual learning camping thing. He has to convince me in how it will be educational for the fairies as well." "When's that meeting?" Tecna asked "At 1 P.M. this afternoon." "Umm… Stella, that is in less than 5 minutes… won't you be late? Professor Palladium's office is on the other side of campus… a 12 minute walk…" Tecna said as she projected the time off her phone for all to see. Stella looked at the time and jumped off her seat. "Aww man! Now I have to run there!" Stella said as she grabbed some fries and her water bottle as she turned and ran out of the cafeteria.

Everyone was shocked to see that Stella was actually being responsible and trying to make an appointment that was not beauty related. "Wow, I have never seen Stella eat so fast." Cari said as she took her last sip of juice. "No one has, sweetie. But she knows that we need her to pass this test in order to get one up on Eldus." "Can we help her Bloom?" "All we can do for her now is to stay out of her way and not distract her from that 'To do list'" Everyone nodded their agreement as they stood up and walked out of the cafeteria.

* * *

"Made it!" Stella gasped in relief as she burst through the doors of Professor Palladium's office. "Good job, Stella. I wasn't expecting you to be on time." "Gee thanks, Professor. Now can we get this meeting started?" "Of course, now I want to take my senior class to meet up with the witches on their educational excursion. The professors and the headmistress of Cloud Tower go into the Dark Forest annually to teach their students about the mysteries of the Dark Forest and learning how to use its negativity to strengthen their powers and not to just rely on their own strength. It teaches them to get support from outside sources." "And how does learning about the Dark Forest be beneficial to your students? The witches can and will use the dark forest's negative energy because they already use dark spells, but since fairies only use light spells that excursion might not show your students anything beneficial. It could actually prove to be quite dangerous since it can weaken their powers if they are not careful"

Professor Palladium paused for a moment in slight shock 'Impressive! Stella is thinking about this very logically. She will make a great Queen of Solaria one day.' He continued with a smile "You have a very good point Stella. But going to this excursion with the witches could prove to be very educational to the senior class. It will show them how those with dark magic gain power in the darkness and even how they can fight against it. I also plan to show them how to find the light in any dark surroundings. And it will be good for them to start to build a resistance to the negative energy in the forest especially with the Trix on the loose again. The sooner they understand the basic workings of dark powers the better they will be equip to fight against evil foes." "Hmm... if it is good to start to build a resistance to the draining properties of the Dark Forest then why don't you also take your freshman class?" "Because they are still unstable in fully controlling their powers and with their overconfidence it can be a bad combination. While the senior class knows their current level and how to fully control their powers they will be able to learn much from the witches without starting any unnecessary concerns."

Stella thought for a moment about everything that he said before making her final decision. "Very well, Professor Palladium. I will allow you to take your senior class on a day trip to meet up with the witches in the Dark Forest. But take another professor just to be safe and be sure you leave the forest before nightfall, we both know how much stronger the forest gets with the moon." Stella added as she shivered at the memory of her experience in the Dark Forest. "Thank you Stella." "Well if that is all. I need to continue with Ms. Griselda's to do list." 'Sigh' "And if you don't mind me saying: you are doing a pretty good job as of yet." Palladium said with a sympathetic smile. "Thanks this job is harder than I thought I had no idea Ms. Griselda did so much in just one day." Stella said as she scratched the back of her head. "Good luck to passing your test Stella." Stella nodded as she headed out of his office.

"I wonder if she will be disappointed at the end of the day…" the professor thought out loud as Stella closed the door behind her. "oo well time to get my class and another teacher together. This will be such a memorable trip." Palladium said with an excitement.

* * *

"Thank you for coming with us Professor Wizgiz and at such last notice." "No problem at all Professor Palladium. I'm sure this will be a very educational trip for our students." The small professor said as he bounced up and down next to Palladium as they were followed by a group of chatting girls as the two professors led them towards the Dark Forest. They stopped right before they entered the forest and turned to their students. "Now ladies, as we all know the Dark Forest can be a very dangerous place if you are not mentally or physically prepared. Try not to let your fears rule your decisions while you are in here, you must all stay calm and collected and not to worry for Professor Wizgiz and I are here to not only teach you but to you protect you as well. This special excursion is meant to teach you all the strengths and weaknesses that dark powers possess. So learn and grow as much as you can in the few hours that we will be with the witches of Cloud Tower. It should take us about 20 minutes to reach the witches' campsite. Now let us begin our exciting adventure!"

* * *

"Witches I am very pleased with your progress so far." Headmistress Griffin said to her entire student body. "Now I have just received notice that we are to expect guests that will join us on our training exercises. I will expect each and every one of you to be on your best behavior and cooperate when the fairies arrive." There was a lot of unhappy commotion at that news. "Now, now everyone calm down and listen. We are starting these joint classes because of all the previous enemies that the magical universe has seen. By learning about both light and dark powers will help us protect and fight for the ones we want to defend longer without anyone else's help. Or do you always want to fully rely on the powers of new company of light, to fell defenseless without the Winx being close by?" With that the witches agreed and shook their heads in their distaste of the thought of always relying on a pretty little fairy's help to defend themselves and their school.

Headmistress Griffin saw that she got her student body to agree with her terms. 'Good. Now I won't have to worry about Faragonda complaining that her fairies where fully bullied while here. And hopefully those who will be, are strong enough to take it.' The headmistress said with a smirk. At that moment they all heard a noise coming from the bushes behind the headmistress. Everyone stood prepared to defend themselves against anything that came at them. Griffin turned around to see what was behind her, just to see Professor Wizgiz bouncing into the clearing. "Why hello Headmistress Griffin we are relieved to have found you. I do hope you did not wait long for us." The professor said with a slight bow as Professor Palladium and his students filed into the clearing behind them. "I am glad that you had no trouble finding your way here. I hope your walk was a safe one?" "Yes, we found no trouble on our journey here." Professor Palladium responded. "Perfect. Shall we begin the training?" Griffin said with a smile. "Yes, Let's" Palladium replied.

* * *

"Have you found anything yet Darcy?" Stormy asked her sister. "Not really. You?" "Nothing. This is boring." "I found something!" Icy exclaimed. "What?!" Stormy said as she jumped up off her seat. "The keepers of the Gem of Lilith are the Stormryder family. It is written here that they were the only ones who were able to keep the Gem from becoming tainted with negative energy while still staying positive themselves." "Awesome where do they live?" Darcy asked. "They lived on the planet Dolona…" Icy started to read with a smile from the thought of finding the gem. "…but after some witches attacked the planet, killed off most of the Stormryder family and laid waste to the planet, the surviving main family went into hiding and were never seen again…" Icy finished with a frown. "Damn are you serious!?" Stormy exclaimed "I thought we had finally found the answer to finding my Gem!" "Now what do we do?" Darcy asked "Well, there has to be another solution as to where we can find the Gem." Stormy said as she threw some books around. "Good thing we have a couple of days to find it." Darcy added.

"Umm… girls I don't think you have that much time after all." Eldus said from his corner. "What do you mean?" "Because I think Griffin added a new watch dog to her school…" Eldus responded to Icy as he pointed behind her shoulder. At first glance there was nothing by the door of the library, but after a moment there was a slight shimmer as if someone touched the surface of water and created ripples. Suddenly a chameleon–shapeshifter with bright pink eyes appeared before them. It screeched loudly at them like a siren as it ran down the hall towards the open window. It grew a pair of wings as it jumped out the window. "STOP IT!" Icy ordered.

The Trix flew after the creature and chased it out the window. "Dam we have to capture it! If it tells Griffin we won't be able to find the Gem!" Icy said as they threw attacks at the small creature, but it avoided every attack. "We have to go faster!" Stormy said as she sped up. Just when it looked like she was able to grab the creature it dove into the trees. "Are you kidding me!" Stormy yelled as she dove after it. She was dropping so fast, hoping to catch it before it got too deep into the trees that she was not paying attention to the approaching branches. Just as she reached out to touch the creature's wing it jumped off a branch to change its direction suddenly. Leaving Stormy to hit face first on the branch it which it leapt off of, breaking and awkwardly falling down to the forest floor and hitting more branches along the way down. "Stormy stop messing around we are going to lose sight of that thing!" Darcy yelled at her sister that landed on her back with the branch that her face landed on, on top of her and covering her face. "ugh…I'll …catch up…" Stormy told her sisters in a slurred voice. "Fine but get a move on!" Icy said as she and Darcy flew away. "Yea, yea… dam that hurt!" Stormy said as she rubbed her face. "I hope this day gets better…" She mumbled as she flew after her sisters.

The Trix didn't notice someone hiding behind the trees as they flew away "Oh no! I got to tell someone that the Trix are in the Dark Forest! I need to tell the Winx!" she said to herself as she flew as fast as she could to Alfea.

* * *

"How is it going Tecna?" Bloom asked as she walked into the large, open training grounds with Cari by her side. "Pretty good Bloom. Aisha is just showing the fairies how to use the equipment before I assign each one their specific training regimen that they should follow. I'm glad you guys can make it, maybe you can help us out too Bloom." "Sure I would love to help. Just tell me what I need to do." "Thanks." Tecna said as she showed Bloom the plans of what she wanted her to do.

Just as soon as Aisha finished and started to hand over the class to Tecna they were suddenly interrupted. "WARNING! WARNING! IMPORTANT MESSGAGE! COMING THOUGH! MAKE WAY!" Everyone turned to see Livy flying pretty fast towards them. "Livy what's wrong?" Bloom asked the pixy as it flew closer. "Oo Bloom thank goodness! I was hoping I could contact you soon! There's something you need to know! I saw something bad in the Dark Forest!" The hyper pixy said quickly. "Calm down Livy what did you see?" Tecna asked. "I was coming back from giving Headmistress Griffin a message when I got lost, but when I figured out which way to go. I saw the TRIX! They were chasing some shape shifter thing with pink eyes in the Dark Forest. And they were really serious about capturing it. They were headed east, deeper into the forest!" The fairies gasped. Aisha, Tecna and Bloom nodded to each other. "We need to tell Headmistress Faragonda and have her prepare for anything. I will go tell her while you two tell the rest of the Winx." "Got it!" Bloom magically levitated Cari as they each ran their separate ways while exclaiming "Class dismissed!"

Bloom burst into the headmistress' office. "I apologize for the intrusion Headmistress Faragonda but Livy just told us something that we need to be on alert for. As she was returning from delivering a message to Headmistress Griffin she saw the Trix in the Dark Forest and they were headed east, deep into the forest. Seems like they were chasing some little flying creature with pink eyes" Faragonda gasped at the news. "Oh no! That can't be… we need to send help the Professor Palladium's class immediately! If the Trix are chasing what I think they are chasing, then they will end up at the witch's camp." "Why? And where are Professor's Paladium's class in danger?" "That was the message I asked Livy to deliver. They are to meet up with the witches on their excursion in the Dark Forest. It is their annual excursion into the forest to learn about dark powers. And the creature the Trix are chasing is a creature that Griffin and I charmed to be the new security system of Cloud Tower. It blends in to its environment to become virtually undetectable and morphs it's body to become fast enough to alert Griffin as fast as it can. It must be on its way to tell Griffin that the Trix are in Cloud Tower." "Don't worry Headmistress Faragonda the Winx will go and protect them!" "Thank you my dear Bloom." Bloom nodded as she ran out of the office with Cari still levitating behind her.

As soon as Bloom reached the main entrance she saw the rest of the Winx running towards her. "Hey girls we need to head out now and after the Trix!" "According to Livy the Trix are headed in the direction where the witch's camping grounds are. If we hurry we might just make it before the Trix do, especially if they are still chasing whatever it is that they were chasing." "I'm pretty sure they are. I think they were up to no good at Cloud Tower while the witches were away. And their new security system found them now it's off to report it to Griffin." "Then that means we have to get to the witches before the Trix do!" Aisha exclaimed. "Right! Winx Transform!" "Winx Bloomix!" they all exclaimed as they each transformed.

Once transformed Bloom turned to Cari who was waiting a couple of feet away and knelt down in front of her. "Cari you need to go find Sky." "But I want to go with you." "No it's too dangerous, sweetie. I need you to stay safe. Got it?" Cari looked down "ok Bloom." "Ok good girl. I will find you when I get back." Bloom gave the small girl a big hug before standing up and turning towards the Winx. "Alright girls ready?" "Actually Bloom I can't go with you guys this time." Stella said as she was reading through some pages. "According to Griselda's notebook… 'in case of emergencies I need to gather all the students up and make sure everyone is accounted for and safe'… I'm still in the middle of her test I can't leave…" Stella looked with a worried expression "It's Ok Stella. Looks like we are going to have make due without you. Good luck with things here then." Bloom told her best friend "Thanks and you guys be safe too, ok?" Bloom nodded to Stella before turning to look at the fairy of technology "Tecna lead the way." Tecna nodded as she took out her handheld and lead the Winx towards the Dark Forest.

Cari stood there watching as the Winx flew away and Stella flew towards the headmistress' office. 'I really want to help… but what should I do?' She looked down to see Kiko "Hey Kiko…if your friends were in danger would you disobey to go help them?" Kiko nodded immediately and started to fight the air to show his courage. Cari smiled "Your right I should go and help the Winx… and Bloom didn't really give me an order or anything… it was more of a stern suggestion…thanks Kiko" Once Kiko fully understood what was asked he started to jump around franticly trying to stop the small girl from going after the Winx.

Cari ran to the training grounds where Sky and the Specialists were organizing defenses around the school with some of the fairies. She snuck past them and grabbed her bow and quiver. 'Great that was easy…now all I need is something to use to levitate there…' Cari looked around and saw a shield big enough for her to sit on leaning against the wall near her. 'Perfect!' She ran to the shield pushed it onto the floor upside down and jumped on it. She began to concentrate and focused her powers on the levitating the shield like she did with the pillow. It took a bit more focus since it was much heavier than the light pillow, but it started to rise after a short moment. 'Yes!' She smiled to herself with pride 'Now to the Dark Forest!' Cari levitated as fast she could after the Winx… hoping that she could catch up to them soon without being noticed.


	30. Chapter 29: Fight Without Being Seen!

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Vulcana and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I'm soooo sorry guys i made a little mistake... so i made some minor changes... _

_So anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be appreciated. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, srthob, mia, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 29  
****Fight Without Being Seen**

"We have to go faster girls! Or the Tix might get there before us!" Bloom said as she began to speed up "What are the chances that the Trix aren't there already Tecna?" "Well Musa, according to Livy's statement and my calculations based on it. Since they should still be chasing after the security creature and assuming that it is going in random patterns to avoid capture, they should still take about 2.5 minutes to arrive. While at this new accelerated rate it should take us about 1.4 minutes to arrive, giving us 1 minute and 10 seconds arrival time before the Trix." "Well that's not so bad." Aisha mused out loud. "You know what will be faster?!" Musa asked "What?" Bloom questioned "If we just phoned them! You know pretty much everyone has a mobil now-a-days…" Musa said as she held her phone. "That would be a good plan Musa, but there are a couple of problems with that. One: all the students and professors are required to leave all forms of technology behind. And two: there will be no cell reception in the dark forest. Don't forget that this forest drains magical powers for both the dark and light users, except for those who are trained and strong willed, so of course the magic used for phone communications wouldn't stand a chance." "Really?" Musa asked as she looked at her phone's screen, and once pressing a few buttons she gave a frown. "Your right… I have no service at all…well there goes that plan..." She said with a disappointed face.

"Well either way we will need all the time we can get to warn all the Cloud Tower witches and fairies before the Trix arrive." Flora commented. "If we are worried about limited time than maybe Bloom should just use her new powers to get there faster." "I am not leaving you guys behind, Musa. We will stick together, in case Eldus decides to show up." "But we can see that you are already holding yourself ba-…" Musa was interrupted from the sounds of small explosive sounds in the distance. Everyone looked around while still flying at their fast pace trying to locate where the noises came from. "There!" Aisha exclaimed as she pointed to the far left of them, and slightly behind them. Everyone looked in that direction to see some smoke coming out of the trees, after a few seconds they saw another two explosive smokes coming out of the trees headed in the same direction that the Winx were headed in. "Should we assume that's the Trix?" The fairy of nature asked as she pointed in the direction of the line of smoke. "Yes, that will be an accurate assumption Flora. And unfortunately it seems that they have speed up as well. We will now only have a 50 second time gap ahead of the Trix." Tecna said with slight worry in her eyes as she looked up from her phone to look at their leader.

"I believe Musa has a logical idea Bloom. Your additional speed will give Headmistress Griffin and Professor Palladium more of a warning and protection to their students." Bloom stared at her team debating whether or not to take that advice. As she looked to each Winx she saw them all nod their heads in silent agreement. She slowly closed her eyes and nodded 'Sigh' "Fine I will go on ahead, but you guys need to promise to be careful and meet up with me as fast as you can. Deal?" "Deal!" The Winx responded in unison and without hesitation. Bloom nodded once, looked ahead and took a deep breath.

"Wait!" Everyone turned "What's wrong, Aisha?" "Bloom, we forgot about one important thing…" "And that would be?" "You are supposed to be dead… The Trix and Eldus still think that they killed you and I thought we were still keeping it that way to protect your family…" Everyone froze in midair at the realization that they did forget that small fact. They all slowly turned to their leader to see her reaction. And they saw the same realization reflected on her face. "I… forgot about that… I can't let them see me… how will I fight?" "Is it possible for you fly us all at super speed at once?" Flora asked. Bloom shook her head "I don't think so. I'm still getting used to these powers, and this spell uses a large burst of energy at once in a short amount of time. If I use too much energy it might hurt one or all of you, if I don't use enough energy then it will not work for any of us. It's safer if I use it alone… at least until I know how to fully control it." Bloom responded. "Well right now all you need to do is get there quickly to warn the witches and fairies of the imminent approaching danger, and we should be there before the Trix arrive anyway. By then you will just need to stay back in the forest and protect the students. The Trix won't see you, they will be too busy with us to even glance around." Flora said with a confident smile. "Flora is right Bloom, you just need to warn them. Tell them to put up their barriers and make sure everyone is accounted for. That way we won't have to worry about stray witches or fairies wandering about the forest." Tecna said. Bloom nodded once her agreement in the plan "Ok, I'll hide as soon as I know everyone is safe. So don't be surprised if you don't see me." The winx nodded "Be careful Bloom and we will be there as soon as we can." "You guys be careful too. You guys know how cunning the Trix can be. Don't let your guard down and be as fast as you can." Bloom finished as she took one last look at the Winx and turned in the direction of where the Cloud Tower Witches were.

"Dragon of Domino!" In that moment a red dragon appeared and slightly flew up above Bloom and back flipped down to became one with her. As soon as they became one, Bloom burst with incredible speed and shot ahead of the Winx. "Well, I guess we should speed up as well." Aisha said as she saw how far Bloom already was. "Well, as long as we keep our current speed and nothing unexpected happens than we will still arrive before the Trix." Tecna commented.  
"Umm… Tecna would that count as something unexpected?" Flora said as she grabbed Musa and Aisha's hands. Everyone turned and saw what Flora was talking about. "Yes, I believe that will delay us quite a bit…" Tecna said as she flew closer to her friends and grabbed Musa's other hand.

* * *

Some of the Cloud Tower witches were all concentrating on their training activities when suddenly a red flaming dragon entered the middle of the clearing. Surprised, the witches in the middle of the clearing jumped a good distance away. Once all were a fairly safe distance from where the dragon was planning to land they all went on the defensive and prepared for an attack. As soon as it landed the dragon they were all shocked to hear it speak. "Where are Headmistress Griffin and Professor Palladium?" Once it asked its question the dragon burst into a dark red, orange and gold flame and quickly faded away to show a fairy with red blazing hair.

"Hey isn't that Bloom?" A witch in purple mid-drift and black tight jeans asked "Yea, it's that famous goody fairy from the Winx." Another in a blue long shirt and black leggings added. "Why are looking for our headmistress?" a witch dressed in all dark green asked. "There is an emergency and your headmistress needs to be warned." Bloom started. "What do I need to be warned about, Bloom?" Cloud Tower's Headmistress said as she walked down from the other end of the clearing out from the woods. Once her students heard her they stepped aside to give her a clear path to walk towards the center of the clearing.

"We assume that the Trix broke into Cloud Tower and your new security animal is on its way here to inform you, but it is being chased by the Trix. They will arrive any minute now. We all need to prepare for a fight." Bloom summed up quickly. "I will assume that you will give me the details later. Where is the rest of your team and your heroes?" "Yes, I will give you more details after we secure all of the student's safety. The rest of the Winx are scheduled to arrive moments before the Trix do. The Specialists will remain at Alfea to protect the school in case they decide to turn around and attack them. In the meantime I would like to confirm that the Alfea students are safe since I don't see them here and help you prepare your defenses for the Trix." Bloom said as she took a quick look around the area trying to find Professor Palladium.

"The Alfea students are with a few of my senior students on a short expedition to learn about the dangerous plant life in this forest. They should be back in about an hour." The headmistress said as she pointed to the north behind her. "Bloom glanced in the direction where the Headmistress pointed to and nodded. "Good that's in the opposite direction that the Trix are traveling in. Is there someone you can send to warn them?" Griffin nodded and turned to her right to some of her most talented freshman students "You two…" She pointed to a pair of witches: one with black long pig tails, in a long but split high spider patterned maroon dress, and the other one in a black leggings and a long dark green shirt with short spiky hair. "… go find the fairy class and warn them of the Trix. Their professor will decide their course of action from there. Once he decides, you will guide them, along with the other witches that are them now, to where ever they go. Whether that is to return here or leave the forest, but do not take any unnecessary risks. Understand?" "Yes, headmistress." The two exclaimed as they flew to the north of the forest.

Griffin turned back to face Bloom. "There. Your Alfea fairies will be warned. Now I assume you have a plan to defend against the Trix?" Bloom gave a concerned look "I would not like to impose since this is your domain and students." Griffin smiled at Bloom's politeness. "Yes, but the safety of my students come first and I have fallen to the Trix before. I will allow you to take the lead… this time." Bloom nodded. "Thank you, Headmistress Griffin." Bloom looked around the clearing trying to come up with the best method in which to defend the camp and students. "Headmistress which defensive spells do your students know? Do they know how to repel and return attacks?" Griffin nodded "But not the freshman and sophomore classes." Bloom nodded while still thinking "That's enough… I'm pretty sure the Trix will try to get an advantage by attacking the students. So we will be ready and we will send their attack back at them." Bloom said with a smirk as she continued with her plan. "The freshman and sophomore classes should stay deeper into the forest with some juniors to put up a small barrier to protect them, away from the main fight. The senior and rest of the junior class will be back up until the rest of the Winx arrive… I have a feeling they will be delayed." Griffin smirked in approval to the fairy's plan.

"Will you be able to take on the Trix by yourself?" "Well the last time I fought all three of them alone, I lost. Though, I am much stronger now. I know that I will be more than grateful for your help in the battle, former covenant of light member, Griffin." The headmistress smiled and slightly shook her head at Bloom's words. "You remind me so much of your parents when they were younger." She said as she flew up to be beside Bloom. "Thank you I hope I can be as strong and courageous as them some day." Bloom said with a soft smile. "You have young fairy. As you know: the apple does not fall far from the tree and you will grow even stronger with time. I know that they are proud of you in many ways." Bloom nodded and slightly blushed at the Headmistress' praise. "But there is something you should know about me and the Trix..." "What is it, Bloom?" "The Trix think I'm dead and I really want to keep it that way. If not they will tell Eldus and go after my family again… I will need to stay hidden from sight if I am to fight at all." Griffin placed a hand on the fairy's shoulder for a moment and nodded 'I understand' before turning towards her students.

"You all heard Bloom: Freshman and sophomores set up the defenses deeper in the north part of the forest, junior classes C and D go with the first and second years to help them erect a barrier. Seniors and the junior classes A and B, start erecting the 'repel and return barrier' here." Griffin saw doubt in her student's eyes as she took a look around the clearing. "Now I know that the Trix are known as the strongest witch coven since the ancestral witches, but we are stronger in numbers. Individually we don't stand a chance against them even Bloom the leader of the new coven of light has doubts to fight alone, but together there is no doubt, there is no reason to fear, there is no chance of us losing. Just don't forget your lessons or your training; they will help you be strong and brave." Griffin saw the fighting spirit glowing in her student's eyes and smiled her approval. "Now go and let's show how powerful Cloud Tower witches really are!" Everyone cheered in agreement, and after a short moment they quickly went about to prepare battle.

"Now Bloom, where is the rest of your team?" Griffin asked after she approved the set barriers. "I'm not sure they should have been here by now…" Bloom responded as she looked to her strong glowing bracelet 'At least they are not in grave danger.' "…but I'm sure they are fine… We have to be on alert; I sense the Trix will arrive soon." "Will the Winx arrive before them?" "… I don't think so… but I have a plan… do you have any senior students that have fire abilities? And can your security camouflage creature camouflage anything he touches or just himself?" "Yes, there is one student who mainly uses fire based powers… and Bruno can disguise anything as long as he wishes or touches… why?' "Since I am supposed to be dead, meaning I can't be seen, and you can't fight alone I think I have a way to fight with you." "But how can you be involved without the Trix finding out? You can't fight!" "I can't fight while being seen… but I can fight if the Trix don't think it's me they are fighting." At that moment Griffin knew what Bloom meant as she looked into the fairy's deep blue eyes and saw that mischievous smirk on her face. "You are very clever, Bloom… for a fairy." "Thank you headmistress. Now which student uses fire?"

* * *

Suddenly a creature burst through the southern tree line and towards Griffin at an amazing speed. "Bruno!" The headmistress exclaimed as she reached out her arms to catch the odd looking creature. "Are you alright?" The small black creature nodded as it snuggled into Griffin's hair. Bloom distanced her herself a few inches at seeing the creature 'Eww it looks so creepy…' "Umm... Bruno… where are the Trix?" Bloom asked while looking in the direction where the shape-shifter came from.

Before the creature could answer, a small group of ice shards came from the tree line and hit a tree close to Griffin and it froze the tree completely. "They're here!" Bloom exclaimed as she flew to shield the headmistress and the odd creature from another attack. "Is... umm… Bruno prepared to fight with me?" Bloom asked as she prepared for another attack. "Can you still fight, Bruno?" Griffin asked as she patted the small creature on the head. The creature looked between the headmistress and Bloom them nodded after a short moment "Good. You are very brave my little Bruno, now go and use your powers to camouflage Bloom from sight until I say otherwise." Bruno gave the headmistress a quick cuddle before nodding and flying towards Bloom.

Once it landed on Bloom's shoulder she gave an involuntary chill before looking at the creature and giving it a small smile before patting it on the head. "I will keep you safe from harm Bruno." The small creature purred while nodding as its skin started to blur until it became invisible. Bloom looked at her hands but was surprised she could still see them, they just looked a bit blurry. She turned to face Griffin "Did it work, headmistress Griffin?" "Yes, Bloom you are completely invisible… even you're presence is disguised." "Good we are going to have a good fight."

"I am ready to fight as well, Headmistress Griffin." "Good. Always keep your defenses up Vulcana and remember what we discussed." The young purple haired and blue highlight haired witch nodded. "Don't worry Vulcana, I will always be near you. We will be fighting together." "Thanks Bloom." "No thank you. With your help I can keep my secret while still protecting you all at the same time." Before Vulcana could respond they were interrupted.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" Icy asked in her cold tone as she slowly flew forward out of the trees followed by her sisters. "If it isn't our old Headmistress and a senior student… I'm sorry I forgot your name" Icy said as she gave the student an icy glare. "Its Vulcana and you are not the least bit sorry." "Yea, your right. I'm not sorry, I don't even care… so do you two reeaally think that you can face the three of us together. " Icy took a slow look around and towards the ground. "And still protect your precious students?" Griffin glared at the Ice witch "Why don't you just focus on us." Icy slowly glanced up and stared at the Headmistress with a cold stare. "Very well, let's see how long you can last against us this time Griffin… well before you go running to the fairies for help that is." Griffin snarled at Icy for her snide remark. "I have a feeling we will put up a very good fight this time." "We will see about that!" Icy exclaimed as she threw her ice shards at the headmistress.

"Yes, you will see that we are better!" Griffin exclaimed as she threw a barrier up. "Fire Cyclone!" Vulcana exclaimed as she threw her attack as she flew slightly sideways away from Griffin. "We don't have time for your weak attacks." Stormy said as she threw a medium sized tornado at Vulcana's attack. But instead of dispersing the Fire Cyclone, Stormy's attack was destroyed instead. "What?!" Stormy exclaimed as she was hit by the attack. "How was that possible" Darcy asked as she glared at the student after she saw her sister get flown into the trees. "You were no where this strong the last time we saw you. How did you get this strong in such a short time?" Darcy asked as she flew closer to the young witch. "I went on a fairy trial and gained a charm that enhanced my abilities ten-fold." The young witch said with a confident as she raised her left hand to show a gold thick band bracelet hanging gingerly off her wrist.

"A witch doing a fairy trial?! And winning! You are a disgrace to all witches everywhere." Stormy said with disgust as she flew back to be besides Darcy while rubbing her injured behind. "And yet I was still able to get you off your feet on my first attempt." Vulcana said with a smirk. "Why you little…" Stormy said with a snarl as she started to charge up her next attack. "… You won't be so lucky next time!" the storm witch exclaimed as she threw a large cyclone at Vulcana. "I don't think so! Fire Defense!" she exclaimed as she raised her left arm and threw up a barrier 'I don't think it will be strong enough to deflect her cyclone…' Vulcana worried to herself. "Don't worry Vulcana I'm with you." Bloom whispered softly to the young fire witch. At that moment Vulcana felt a brush against her left arm and felt a surge of power flow through her arm and into her barrier. 'Yes, I will be safe. Bloom has my back… she may be a fairy, but we have to work together to protect everyone…'

As soon as the cyclone hit Stormy thought that was the end of the young witch, but was highly disappointed that the barrier did not waver in the slightest. "Something is up… there is no way that student is so strong…" Darcy commented "Sisters look who is behind her…" Stormy and Darcy looked behind the Cloud Tower witch and saw Griffin floating there all proud of her student. "Griffin is obviously giving her help from behind. Together of course they have a chance to defend themselves against us." Icy said "So we just need to separate them and get rid of that student so we can have fun tormenting Griffin alone…" Darcy said with a cold smile. "Leave it to me!" Stormy said as she flew a few inches higher in the sky and raised her arms up, as some storm clouds started to form above her. "Lightning Bolt!" many random lightning bolts fell down around Griffin and Vulcana. The both of them flew a bit closer together to avoid the surrounding attacks. Suddenly a huge bolt came directly down on them "MOVE VULCANA!" Griffin said as she pushed her student out of the way of the attack as she herself jump backwards just in time to avoid the lightening.

They found themselves a couple of yards away and with Darcy and Stormy in between them. Darcy was facing the headmistress and Stormy was facing the student. "Now that you no longer have your support or should I say your power boost I can get rid of you faster. Prepare to meet your maker, fairy lover! DARK LIGHTNING!" Stormy said as she shot a stream of purple lightning at the student. "I wouldn't count me out so fast! FIRE DEFENSE!" 'How does she keep defending against my attacks?… fine I will just add more power… I'm just stalling anyway…' Stormy thought with a sly grin as she added more power into her lightning bolt.

Vulcana started to have trouble keeping the attack back once Stormy made it more powerful. "I don't know if I can hold this for very long." Vulcana muttered under her breath. "The barrier will hold Vulcana. You just need to relax and find the strength to hold the barrier up. I will help." Bloom whispered softly. The young witch nodded once and took a deep breath as she braced herself to hold up the barrier for a while longer.

'I hope the Winx get here soon. I don't know if we can defeat the Trix while I'm hiding like this… I can't use the full extent of my powers without getting discovered… where could they be?' Bloom pondered to herself as she continued to help Vulcana. 'I sense they are close… but it is hard to focus on how close while fighting like this…'

"WATCH OUT!" Bloom turned around to see a clone of Darcy just about to send a darkness attack at Vulcana's defenseless back. 'Dam! I should've noticed her.' Before she could turn around to warn the young witch Darcy threw a powerful attack at them. 'Crud!' Before Bloom had time to react and raise another barrier to protect them, a shield came flying down and got in between them and the attack, protecting them from a certain powerful blow. "Wait, what?... Cari?!"


	31. Chapter 30: The Wound That Never Healed

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Vulcana, Bruno and Eldus. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Hope you guys had a fun month and are ready for Halloween! If you did: Awesome. If not: Don't worry Halloween is not over yet! _

_So anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be appreciated. Thanks!_

_And a special thanks to Anna, coralxreef13, srthob, mia and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 29  
****The Wound that Never Healed **

'I know I can sense Bloom coming from that way…' Cari thought as she levitated the shield she was sitting on as fast as she could. 'Wait… what is that?' a good distance away the young fairy could see something right above the tree line. As she got closer, it became clearer that she needed to be careful and stay away. 'Is that… a tornado?! I'm going to have to go around it… if I get caught in it I might not make it out…' she thought after getting close enough to see the tornado very clearly. 'It's so big… is it a natural thing in this creepy forest?' she thought to herself as she took a quick look around to make sure there weren't any more tornadoes around.

'…wait…' Cari saw something sparkling in the harsh spinning winds as she was staring at the mid part of the tornado. 'Those look like fairy wings! And that kinda looks like Tecna's barrier!' Cari thought to herself when she saw a glimpse of Tecna's spell through the winds. 'But I don't sense Bloom in there… did the Winx separate? …' Cari wondered as she hovered a safe distance away. After a short moment of hoping that the Winx were able to get out and seeing that the Winx didn't seem to be making progress in escaping Cari began to wonder: 'Maybe I should help them… but how? ...' Then she remembered what the teacher Bloom was assisting earlier that day told her about her unstable barrier. "She said that unless I control it properly the only thing it will be good for on a large scale or in battle would be as an instant bomb or to disrupt natural disasters like a tsunami… So in theory it could work to stop this tornado or at least slow down to give the Winx enough time to use a more effective spell…" Cari nodded to herself in agreement "Well here goes nothing…"

Cari got a little closer to the tornado, closed her eyes, and started to concentrate on a medium-sized barrier in the eye of the storm and as far away from the Winx as possible. Like before the barrier was strong but obviously unstable as its shape began to fluctuate. 'I can't hold it…' Cari then felt the barrier shrink and suddenly expand until it burst free in a violent manner. Once her barrier was gone, Cari opened her eyes to see the tornado slowing down. The blast was not enough to stop it completely, but it was enough for the Winx to get out of its grasp and collect their bearings. Cari smiled to herself knowing that she was helpful. 'Now let's get to Bloom… if I stick around they will force me to go back…' she thought as she continued on her way, while going around the slightly smaller tornado the Winx were getting rid of.

After a about a minute, Cari made it to the edge of the clearing where the Cloud Tower witches were camped. As soon as she could slightly gaze into the clearing a lightning bolt shot right before her. 'W-whoa that was a close one…' Cari froze for a moment before she slowly inched forward to have a better view of the clearing, while lying down as closely to the shield as she could. Once at the very edge of the tree line she peeked over the shield's edge and there she saw an older woman with an odd up-do in a long marron dress with a very high collar fighting a girl with long brown hair tied up in a very long, high pony-tail wearing a purple jumpsuit with very long sleeves. While a young girl, that looked like a student, with purple hair and blue highlights in a dark blue dress and leggings was fighting another girl with dark curly purple hair tied up in a high pony-tail with a very curly medium length tail and a red jumpsuit with very long sleeves who had a snarl on her face and her back to the long brown hair girl's back. Cari looked slightly to her left and saw a girl with long white hair tied up in multiple ponytails wearing a blue skirt and matching top with very long sleeves just floating above the fight with a smirk on her face and laughter dancing in her eyes.

'Where is Bloom? I know she's here somewhere…I sense she is very close…' Cari looked around the bottom of the forest's clearing but didn't see her, but her eyes were attracted to the fight that was happening in midair. 'Wait… there she is…but… why is she so blurry?' She saw a very blurry Bloom flying close behind the young girl in purple and blue highlighted hair, it looked like she was whispering in the girl's ear.

Suddenly the girl with long brown hair appeared right behind Bloom a few feet away. She saw that she was charging up an attack at their defenseless backs. 'N-No! Bloom! But how can she be in two places at once?' Cari thought as she looked from one brown haired girl to her identical twin facing the older woman. The young fairy froze for a second at the thought of losing her mother-figure. But she snapped out of it when she realized that the brown haired girl was about to throw her attack. Cari started to levitate down towards Bloom as fast as she could, but she levitated down sideways with the shield facing the brown haired girl and grasping tightly to the shield's holding straps. "Watch out!" She screamed at Bloom who turned around and noticed the witch about to attack. It was obvious she was too late in her warning. 'I hope this shield holds… that attack seems really strong…' the small girl thought as she braced herself for impact from the powerful attack she was headed towards.

"Wait, What? Cari?!" the small girl heard Bloom say right before she felt the attack make contact with the shield. She expected to be blown back or at least hurt but instead Cari felt familiar hands gently but firmly grab her waist. "Bruno please disguise Cari as well… You can let go now, Sweetie." Bloom whispered into the small girl's ear. Cari saw that her tiny hands became blurry, just like Bloom's, which worried her a bit, but did as she was told and immediately let the shield go. She expected it to fall to the ground and feel the hit from the remaining blast, but nothing happened. Cari was surprised to see that shield was still floating in mid-air and defending them against the attack. She turned to Bloom and saw that she was looking up from where she just levitated down from, and saw a pair of glittering wings.

* * *

"Vulcana, look up and thank Aisha for her assistance." Bloom whispered into the young witch's ear. Vulcana did not show any acknowledgement to Bloom but did as she was told. She looked up and smiled gratefully "Thanks for the assist, Aisha. I owe you one!" The fairy of Tides hesitated for a split second before nodding "No problem. We are always here to help get rid of any unwanted guests." Aisha said as she glared at Icy who was still floating casually nearby.

"Hmm…is that so?" Icy remarked with a cold glare back. "I don't think that you four have any hope in getting rid of us. After we got rid of Bloom and Stella you Winx are down two members. Meaning you have been weakened and have no chance to defeat us!" Stormy said with a smirk. "I'm impressed that you can accomplish some basic math Stormy." Tecna said with a roll of her eyes from the other side of the clearing that Aisha was. "But I do believe that your final calculations are incorrect. Even if we are a couple of members down we still have a 96% success rate." Tecna said with a smirk of her own as she saw Stormy become more and more enraged. "You think you can get away with that smart remark, you dumb fairy?!" Stormy yelled back as she charged up her lightning Bolt and threw it at Tecna.

The fairy of technology easily dodged the attack and regrouped with Flora and Musa where they flew over to Aisha. "How are we going to take these annoying witches on?" Musa asked quietly. "Looks like we are going to have to divide and conquer." Aisha whispered loud enough for only the Winx to hear "Flora you go team up with headmistress Griffin. Tecna go help that young witch fighting Stormy and watch out for Darcy's clone. While Musa and I take on Icy. Be careful girls and remember that Bloom is hiding here somewhere and we don't want to have her reveal herself because we need help" The Winx nodded with looks of determination and went to their assigned positions.

"Hello Headmistress Griffin. May I be of assistance to you in disposing of this unsightly trash?" Flora said with a sweet smile at Darcy. The witch of Darkness just snarled at the Fairy of Nature. "I would appreciate the assist, young Flora. Now let's show this brat who she is dealing with… GRIM BLAST!" "LILAC VORTEX!" "Don't think it will be so easy! … DARK RAY!"

"Greetings. My name is Tecna, may I ask your name?" the young witch nodded "Vulcana. It's great to meet you Tecna." "Nice to meet you too Vulcana. You are very brave to be able to face the Trix and protect your fellow classmates." "Thank you. I have more confidence with the extra help. And now with you… I feel that we can chase these evil witches away easily." "Wait what do you mean 'extra help'?"

"You guys better not have forgotten about me!" Stormy yelled as she sent her Lightning bolt at them. "FIRE DEFENSE!" 'That shield is too weak… I should give her a boost…' before Tecna could even start to summon her shield to help she saw Vulcana's barrier suddenly get stronger. 'What? How? This shouldn't be possible… she would have to at least cast another spell to strengthen her current barrier but she did nothing of the sort… could this have something to do with the extra help she was talking about before?... but who could be helping her and how?' That was when she heard an explosion come from behind Stormy that jolted her back from her thoughts. She looked past Stormy and saw that Darcy was thrown back into the tree line and landed hard on the forest floor.

"Looks like you guys aren't as tough as you thought." Vulcana sneered at Stormy. "I'll show you just how strong we are, fairy lover! HOWLING STORM!" "BIO-RYTHMIC BLAST!" "FLAMING TORRENT!" Tecna's attack was able to cancel out Stormy's while Vulcana's attack was able to make a direct hit and knock Stormy out of the sky. 'It happened again… her stack was weak at first but then she got a sudden power boost out of nowhere… the only logical conclusion is…' "Yes! Two down. One to go!" Vulcana cheered as she turned to look at Icy facing off with Musa and Aisha.

* * *

"ICICLE NEEDLES!" Icy yelled as she threw her attack at Musa and Aisha, who were barely able to dodge it. "Why don't you stupid fairies just give up already? There is no way you can defeat us!" Icy sneered with cold eyes "You might want to double check your math there Icy. Last time I checked 'US' requires more than one person." Aisha remarked with a smirk at the ice witch. "WHAT?!" Icy looked down and saw Darcy and Stormy on the ground, slowly recovering from being unconscious.

"Grr. How is this possible?! You Winx should be powerless without your precious leader!" "That's the thing Icy. You may have hurt us beyond recovery, but we grew stronger from it… like we always will for whatever you or anyone else throws at us. For as long as we have something that we need to protect we will find a way to overpower you." Aisha said with unwavering determination reflected in her eyes.

Icy scoffed at Aisha's words. "Is that so? Then maybe we should put your words to the test… maybe we should attack your home next… or maybe we should get rid of your precious lover… oo wait. You must be used to that pain already." Pure rage sparked in Aisha's eyes as she saw Icy laugh at her broken heart. It took all she had not to cry as she had quick flashbacks of Nabu and their short time together. As she started to recall how her first love made the ultimate sacrifice rage took over and she started to randomly attack Icy with all she had. "WATER BOLT! MORPHIX PUNCH! WATER RAY!"

Icy laughed hysterically at the fairy's feeble attempts in fighting her. "Aww. Did I hurt your feelings, little fairy? Do you want to cry? Is that why your attacks are so WEAK?" Icy said while still laughing, but suddenly stopped and gave the fairy of Tides a cold glare with laughter sparkling in her eyes. "Or are you inviting me to end you so that you can be laid to rest next to your dead beloved fiancé?" Those words broke the last strand of sanity that Aisha was holding on to. She started to charge up another attack when her sight was suddenly blocked.

"Move Musa! This is my fight now!" "No it isn't. Aisha you need to calm down. You need to let go of the anger and sadness that you have built up since you lost Nabu. You need to let your broken heart heal." "No! How can I?! He was my last chance at true happiness! But he left me! He's gone! He promised we would be together forever! But our time together was too short! I'm all alone and lost without him…" With sympathy and compassion in Musa's eyes she began to hum a soft tune. "No. You're not alone. You have your family back on Andros. You have us, your friends. And you have a new future with a new chance at true happiness… with Roy." "…R-Roy…?" Aisha mumbled with some doubt still reflecting in her eyes. Musa nodded with a soft smile as her song got louder. "Yes, Roy. Doesn't he support you? Don't you care about him? Don't you love him? Like you did Nabu?" Aisha slowly nodded once "I love Roy… but…"

"Well, isn't this all touching? But you left yourselves wide open to an attack! ICICLE RAMPAGE!" Everyone down below screamed out warnings as they saw Icy fire her attack at Musa's back and Aisha, still in a daze. Bloom contemplated whether or not to blow her cover to go protect her friends… but it was Musa's eyes that stopped her.

"I would never let my guard down around you, Icy. CRYSTAL VOICE!" The fairy of Music sang out her song as she turned to face Icy. Eyes full of peace and compassion, wishing with all her might that her song would reach everyone's heart and give them a healing touch, especially Aisha's. Musa's voice rang out destroying Icy's Icicle Rampage and dispelling the spells that Darcy and Stormy were starting to conjure up. Once the Trix heard Musa's pure and touching voice they began to scream in pain. "What is that dreadful noise?!" Stormy yelled as she tried her best to cover her ears with her hands. "It's unbearable!" Darcy said as she tried to cast a spell to counter Musa's voice with no avail. "Make it s-stop!" Stormy whined "Icy!" Darcy called out to her sister.

They both looked up to see Icy in the same boat as them, if not worse since she was right next to the source. They saw her trying to fight Musa's pure voice but then Icy scrunched her eyes shut for a short moment just to open them and look down at them. "Sisters… it's time for us to leave! NOW!" Darcy and Stormy nodded and started to fly up towards Icy. Once by her side they turned to Aisha and the still singing Musa. "Don't think you really won this one. We will finish you guys off next time! When you don't have help from bothersome Cloud Tower." Once Icy said that, she led her sisters out of the forest. "Come Sisters, we need to pick up Eldus and leave Cloud Tower before they find out what we were really after." Icy whispered to her sisters as they headed to Cloud Tower.

Musa turned around to face Aisha again and saw that she had a distant look in her eyes, but that she had calmed down after shedding a few tears. Once she saw that there was peace in her friend's eyes Musa slowly ended her song. "Aisha?" Musa saw her friend's eyes slowly come to focus after she had called out her name. "Musa… thank you… I needed that… I needed help to… to let go…" Musa just nodded and gave Aisha a warm hug.

"Wait what exactly happened?" Flora asked as she flew up towards Musa and Aisha with Tecna by her side. "I'm sorry guys. Icy hit more than one button and I kinda lost it for a second. But Musa helped me get back to my senses and then some." "It was nothing really." Musa said as she rubbed the back of head. "But what did you do exactly Musa? I have never felt anything like that from hearing your songs before. It's like your song reached the deepest part of my heart and released any tension I had before. I feel so refreshed now." Tecna commented. "As do I." Flora added with a sweet smile. "Well, it's a bit hard to explain. I just saw that Aisha was hurting and I really wanted to help her. I could feel that the wound from losing Nabu still hadn't healed…it was like her heart was calling out to me for help. That was when I felt a song building up and I just let it out. I didn't expect it to have such an impact on the Trix though, I just wanted to help Aisha." Musa said as she placed a hand on Aisha's shoulder.

"Very impressive Musa. You are becoming a very talented fairy." The Winx turned to face the voice from behind them. "Thank you headmistress Griffin. Are you and your students unharmed?" "Yes, we are all safe and unharmed. Right Vulcana?" "Yes, headmistress." Vulcana turned to the Winx after addressing her headmistress "Hello Winx I don't believe we have all met before." "I saw that you are a very good fighter. No offense though, but you do not seem to give off the aura of the power you displayed today." Aisha told the young witch "Oo that's not surprising. That's because I wasn't fighting alone, I had a bit of help." The young witch said with a smile as she moved to give room to an empty space beside her.

"Winx, you fought very well. And good job in taking charge, Aisha." The fairy of the dragon fire said as she began to become visible once again. The Winx we surprised to see her appear right before them with Cari in her arms and Bruno on her shoulder. "Bloom!" The Winx exclaimed as they rushed to give her and Cari a group hug. "That explains how a student was able to keep Stormy at bay so easily. But how didn't the Trix find out?" Tecna asked. "Well, that is kinda a long story. But first you guys want to explain why you were so late?" Bloom asked with a raised eyebrow. "That story is a bit of swirling pain." Musa said as she recalled their unexpected encounter after Bloom went ahead of them. "But first I think we should hear the explanation from a certain young girl." Flora said as she pointed to the small girl is Bloom's arms. "Heehee… umm… yea… but first… umm… shouldn't we check on all the students… especially the Alfea students?" Cari said with her puppy dog eyes as she desperately tried to distract everyone from her actions.

That was when they were interrupted by one of Griffin's students. "Headmistress Griffin! You are needed! It's the Alfea class!"


	32. Chapter 31: The Alfea Class in Trouble

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Vulcana, the named witches and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Since my b-day is this weekend I really wanted to post this chapter as soon as possible. Hope you have a fun weekend as well! _

_Please enjoy and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, srthob, mia and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 31  
****The Alfea Class is in Trouble **

"Headmistress Griffin! You are needed! It's the Alfea class!"

The Winx paused and turned to look at the young witch with black leggings and a long dark green shirt with short spiky hair. "Your one of the girls that Headmistress Griffin sent to warn the Alfea class aren't you? What's happening? Are they in danger?" Boom asked as she flew down to the young witch followed by the Winx, Vulcana and the headmistress. The witch nodded to the first question before continuing to respond to the second. "Me and Amy went as requested to locate the Alfea class. We found them and spoke to Professor Palladium and Wizgiz. But something happened once they decided on what action to take…"

* * *

\- _FLASHBACK_ –

"Now ladies, finish up writing your notes on these poisonous plants. Soon we will head back to camp…" "Silence!" the tall witch with brilliant green eyes and matching deep green sweater dress said suddenly when she heard something approaching them in high speeds. "Something is coming… and fast…" "I hear it too… but we don't have any stragglers… who could it be?" The other teacher's assistant asked out loud, she was a witch with a light orange bob and tight dark jeans with a dark orange mid-drift top. "Be on alert, Professors."

Professor Palladium nodded in agreement "Girls get behind Professor Wizgiz, immediately." All the Alfea fairies ran to crowd behind the tiny professor as he started to erect a barrier around the students. Suddenly they saw two young witches burst through the bushes. One with black long pig tails, dressed in a long but split high spider patterned maroon dress, and the other one wearing black leggings and a long dark green shirt with short spiky hair. "Amy? Carrie? What are you two doing here?" "Jade! Jordan! There is an emergency! The Trix are about to attack the camp! Headmistress Griffin sent us to warn you and escort the Alfea class, wherever they decide to go. If it is back to the camp or out of the forest, but we need to be careful we don't know how far the Trix's attacks can reach." Amy told her upperclassmen.

The two senior witches turned to the Aflea professors. "We have our orders. The decision is yours in which action to take next. What would you like to do?" Jade asked "Will Headmistress Griffin be ok to face the Trix on her own? Won't she need help?" Professor Palladium asked. "She will be fine. The Winx are on their way and Bloom is already at the camp. The Trix won't stand a chance." Carrie said with a smirk. Palladium nodded in agreement "Then there is no reason for us to go back. If we do there might be a chance we will get caught in the cross fire. We will stay put until we know that the fight is over. I would still like to express my gratitude to Headmistress Griffin before we make our way back. Is that agreeable?"

The Cloud Tower witches looked at each other and nodded their agreement. "Yes that will be fine. But since we are fairly close to the camp I suggest that we head a little deeper into the forest to avoid any stray attacks that might come this way." Jade told the professor. "Agreed. Lead the way."

After walking for a few minutes they came to a part of forest that was filled with 8 foot tall trees that didn't have many branches but was full of leaves and branches at the top of them. Even though the trees weren't that close to each other the surrounding area still had an ominous feel to it. For no matter where they turned there would be bushes and shadows all over the forest floor. "This place feels unsafe…" One of the fairies said as she stayed close to her classmates. "The deeper one goes into the forest the more dangerous it gets. But we are in a fairly good location. It just looks creepy, but be warned do NOT stray far from us. There are many dangers hiding in the shadows around here. One wrong step and you can get swallowed up and it could be near impossible to save you." Jordan said with a scary and foreboding face which scared the fairies into pairing up.

Suddenly they heard thunder boom above them, shortly after they saw lightening follow. "Oh no! Is it going to rain?" A fairy with delicate curls whined. "I can't get my hair wet…" She complained as she started to conjure up some magic. "Oh Well, I have a simple solution… an umbrella!" The fairy said as her large umbrella appeared open above her. Another fairy with complicated braided hair nodded with a smile and summoned a smaller umbrella for herself as well. "Wait! Don't! That is not a natural storm. That's dark magic and your umbrellas made from positive magic will easily attract it! Don't you know that dark magic instinctively attacks light magic?!" Jade exclaimed. "Huh? What are you talking about?" The fairy asked with a raised eyebrow.

Before anything could be said or done thunder was heard right before a small bolt of lightning hit one of the tree's top branches. Screams of shock rung through the area. Suddenly they heard another clash of thunder. "WATCH OUT!" Professor Palladium exclaimed as he ran out and pushed his student that summoned the large umbrella out of the way of the falling tree that the large lightning bolt hit. "Professor Palladium!" Many of the fairies exclaimed as they saw their professor disappear beneath the falling tree trunk.

"Get rid of the umbrellas. NOW!" Wizgiz yelled just when they heard another roar of thunder. Everyone looked up to see another bolt of lightning aiming straight for the fairy with the small umbrella. She was frozen in shock that she just stood there staring at the oncoming danger. "MOVE!" Wizgiz exclaimed as he pushed his student out of the way and jumped sideways to avoid the bolt himself.

Once the lightning hit the ground everyone froze. Not knowing what to do. "Is everyone alright?" Professor Wizgiz yelled. That shook everyone back to their senses. They all nodded or said "yes" in response to their professor. But as they looked around they could not see where their tiny professor was. "Professor Wizgiz? Where are you?" one of the fairies asked. "I'm here, but… I think… I need a bit of assistance…" they heard from behind one of the nearby bushes. Some of closest the fairies started to rush over, but were stopped by Jade and Jordan. "You must be careful where you step around here. Remember if you wander too far off the trail you might not be able to make it back." Everyone looked at Jade with fear reflected in their eyes, and nodded their acknowledgement. "Now just follow behind us, we will lead the way." Jade and Jordan turned around and slowly headed towards Wizgiz's voice, carefully followed by some of the fairies.

A few feet behind the bush they all saw the tiny Professor struggling a couple of feet away. "Oo great…" Jordan mumbled under her breath at the sight of the professor. "Now what, Jade?" she turned and saw her classmate thinking. "Umm… is that a mud puddle?" one of the fairies asked as they looked at their teacher starting to transform into different animals in an attempt to escape, but his feet was always trapped by the sticky substance. "I wish that was a simple sticky mud puddle." Jordan told the students "Please, stop struggling so much Professor Wizgiz! You will only make it worse. That is one of the oldest 'quick sand-mud' in this forest." Jade said

"'quick sand-mud'? Don't you mean just 'quicksand'?" a student asked. Jade shook her head "It started as just simple quicksand. But after years of surviving in this forest it has evolved to become more than just quicksand. It has become as sticky as tar and quick to swallow up its prey as a whirlpool. Because it looks like a normal mud puddle but acts like quicksand it was renamed 'quick sand-mud'. It is near impossible to escape through normal means. We need a special spell with a large amount of physical strength to get him out… before he is swallowed up completely…" Jade said as she continued to assess the situation.

"You know the spell right? The one you said we need in order to free Professor Wizgiz." One of the students asked worriedly. "I do… but I might not be strong enough to cast it. This certain 'quick sand-mud' takes a certain skill and power for the spell to work on it. If it's too weak or I feel slightly doubtful it will speed up the process as a self-defense. If that happens we will definitely lose your professor." Jade explained. "What if we all cast it together? Or all you witches cast it together? There's four of you now. Wont that work?" A fairy asked. Jade shook her head. "This spell can only be used by dark magic users. It won't work if light magic is used. In this case only dark magic can defeat dark magic. And it is almost impossible to do a joint spell with other witches. Witches aren't like you fairies, we can't completely trust each other like you can for the spell to be successful. There is a reason why there are rarely any witch covens." Jade explained. The fairies looked at each other with worry in their eyes "And this spell is mainly used only by the most experienced witches so pretty much the only one who could guarantee a success would be Headmistress Griffin. But that will be hard if she is in the middle of fighting the Trix." Jordan added

"Well I guess we have no choice but to give it a shot." Jade said "First can any of you fairies summon an extremely strong vine or rope?" The fairies looked to each other and paused for a moment before nodding to each other. "We should be able to do it if we use a convergence spell." "Ok get to it while I start the spell. Jordan when they have the rope finished, wrap it around that tree's split in the trunk. It is high enough to help give us leverage and easier to pull out the professor… or at least keep him from getting any deeper." Jordan nodded her agreement as she looked at the tree that was a couple of feet from the 'quick sand-mud'.

Jade walked over to be as close as possible to the professor. "Umm… will I be free soon? I'm getting sand and mud in uncomfortable places and it's starting to chafe…" the professor asked as his waist was starting to get swallowed up. "we are going to try something professor… hopefully this will work… or at least slow down the 'quick sand-mud' enough to get some help…" Jade told the sinking professor "Ok… I'm ready whenever you are!" Wizgiz said with confidence. Jade nodded and started to chant the complicated spell.

Jordan looked with amazement as she saw the fairies hold each other's hand in a circle and concentrated on making an unbreakable rope with their convergence magic. Once done the fairies looked a bit tired but pleased with their work. "Will this do?" One of them asked Jordan as she handed over the rope. The witch pulled and tugged randomly and was very pleased with it. "It's perfect. Now let's get it to work." The students nodded and followed Jordan to the tree that Jade had pointed out earlier. She gave one end to the fairies to hold and flew up to loop the rope in-between the split trunk and flew down to tie the other end of the rope underneath Wizgiz's arms. Jordan got concerned at the rate he was being swallowed up in "Hold on tight professor." "Can do!" the small professor said as he grabbed the rope tightly with both hands. Jordan nodded and turned to Jade, who was still chanting "All set Jade! You're good to go!" After a few seconds Jade flew up above the 'quick sand-mud' and completed the spell and threw it right next to the professor.

A dark glow started to come from the 'quick sand-mud'. It got so dark it looked like it was covered by a large shadow and all sight of professor Wizgiz disappeared. Then it suddenly burst away. When everyone looked, they saw Wizgiz still in the 'quick sand-mud' but it seemed that its grasp was lower than before. "Hey it feels loose now!" Wizgiz said as he started to wiggle a bit. "Don't try to move as much professor or everything would be for naught." Jordan said "It seems… that I was only able… to slow down the process…" Jade said as she flew down to be next to Jordan. "Are you ok Jade?" Jordan said as she said that her classmate was short of breath. "I will… be fine… I just used… everything I had… but it wasn't… enough…" "It was enough, Jade. Now we can go get help… here let's get down to the ground… we might be able to just pull him out." Jordan said as grabbed Jade's shoulders and guided her safely to the ground.

"Ok Fairies! We are going to need one hard and fast pull all at once… hopefully we will be strong enough together to free your professor!" Jordan said as she grabbed a part of the rope. "Ready!... Set!... Pull!" Jordan yelled as she and the students pulled with all their might, but could only free Wizgiz to just below his waist. "Darn! No good. Looks like we are going to need help after all." But soon after she said that there was a slight pull on the rope and looked over to the professor to see that the mud was starting to swallow him up again though much slower than before. "Crud now we really can't let go. If we do it will eat him faster." Jordan said. "What do we do now?" a fairy asked from behind Jordan. "We need someone to go for help and hope the fight with the Triix is over by now."

In that moment, Carrie and Amy burst through the bushes. "Are you guys alright?" the two freshman witches looked around and saw how much trouble their upperclassmen were in. They saw Jade practically passed out, professor Wizgiz getting swallowed up, and Jordan and the fairies struggling to keep the tiny professor from being swallowed up completely. "Not really!" Jordan exclaimed "What about you guys?" "Well, the good news is that Professor Palladium isn't dead…yet. When the tree came crashing down it partially landed on a large rock that was close by so it didn't crush him. We managed to lift the tree enough to free him and review his injuries. Bad news: is that he's unconscious and bleeding, and won't wake up no matter what healing spell the fairies use… so we don't really know if he really is ok or not." Amy said "Oo and don't forget that fairy that made that huge umbrella is having a meltdown: screaming 'this is all my fault… Professor Palladium is going to die because of me!' blah blah blah. She does know that her screaming is NOT helping right?" Carrie said as she rolled her eyes in frustration.

"Ok that stupid fairy doesn't matter now… one of you need to go back to camp and get help… preferably from Headmistress Griffin." Jordan exclaimed. Amy and Carrie looked at each other and nodded in agreement. "Amy, you stay here and look after everyone I'll go since I'm faster." "Ok." Amy nodded to her classmate "Watch your back, Carrie." "Got it. Good luck guys!" Carrie exclaimed and she flew as fast as she could back to camp.

_\- END OF FLASHBACK –_

* * *

"When I arrived I saw that you were still fighting so I stayed hidden until it was over. So please follow me, I don't know how much longer they have…" Carrie said with concern in her eyes. "Ok lead the way, Carrie! Vulcana you stay here and keep order." Griffin ordered. Vulcana nodded and Carrie turned to lead the way to the Alfea class. "Let's go Winx!" Bloom exclaimed as she followed close behind the headmistress, while still carrying Cari.

After about 10 minutes of fast flying they arrived to the location of the Alfea class. What they saw was as drastic as Carrie had described. They saw an unconscious Professor Palladium next to a fallen tree with a wound on his head and back. A few fairies caring for him and a couple of fairies at the far end crying and screaming "this is all my fault!". "Well, this is what happens to those who don't pay attention to their studies." Aisha said as she watched the two girls crying. "Carrie, where is Professor Wizgiz?" Griffin asked as she looked around. "he is this way, headmistress." The headmistress nodded and looked to Bloom. "Bloom can I ask you to care for things here and heal Professor Palladium? While I go assist Professor Wizgiz." "Of course and good luck." The two nodded to each other and flew in the direction where they were needed most.

Bloom landed right next to Palladium and set Cari down gently beside her. She placed one hand on his head and one on his chest. She felt that he had a fever and shortness of breath 'don't worry professor it won't hurt much longer…' "Healing Warmth." Bloom said softly as a warm and soft orange light started to glow from her hands and into Palladium's body. It spread until he was covered in the warm orange glow. After a few moments the glow started to fade and blood that was still flowing from Palladium's wounds stopped and healed without any scars. Once the glowing stopped the professor's fever subsided and his breathing became normal once again. "there… he will be fine. He just needs to rest now." Bloom said as she looked up with a smile. "Aisha can you please prepare a transport bed for Professor Palladium. Musa and Flora can you please calm those two girls down, they're screaming is a little much. Tecna can you come with me to assist Headmistress Griffin?" "Of course Bloom" the Winx each said as they got to work on their assigned tasks.

Bloom and Tecna flew in the direction where the headmistress went to. Once they found her they saw how grave the situation here was. An unconscious young witch, fairies and two other young witches getting tired from the tug-o-war, Headmistress Griffin chanting a spell, right above professor Wizgiz who only had his head and arms above the 'quick sand-mud'. "Well, this seems problematic. It is unclear on who we should help first." Tecna said. "We could use some help here!" Jordan exclaimed as Bloom and Tecna saw them starting to slip. "We c-can't hold on much longer and Headmistress Griffin will take at least another 30 seconds to complete the complicated spell to release Professor Wizgiz." Jordan explained

Bloom and Tecna nodded and rushed to grab hold of the rope. "You guys can let go now." Bloom told the fairies and the young witch. "What? Are you sure? The 'quick sand-mud' is very strong and it's taking all of us just to keep Professor Wizgiz from going under. Too strong a pull, too soon could break his arms right off…" Jordan said as she struggled to keep her hold. Bloom and Tecna reached forward to grab hold of the rope and flowed their magic into the magical rope.

The students felt the rope become easier to hold on to, so much so that it felt that they were just touching the rope instead of pulling against the 'quick sand-mud'. "It's ok now. The both of us will keep the exact same amount of force on the rope until told otherwise. You guys have done enough, you can let go." Bloom said with a grateful and sweet smile. The students hesitated, then they heard a small voice. "Don't worry. Bloom and Tecna are part of the Winx after all, you can trust their strength!" Cari said with a confident smile. With that, all the students nodded and let go of the rope, they sighed in relief when they saw no change in the situation. Once relieved most of the fairies collapsed from exhaustion and looked down at their now raw, bleeding and blistered hands, while Jordan and Amy ran over to Jade and checked on her.

After a few more seconds Headmistress Griffin started to finish up the complicated spell. She suddenly opened her eyes and threw the spell down to the 'quick sand-mud' right beside Wizgiz. The spell caused a dark glow appear and it spread in the 'quick sand-mud', just like it did for Jade. The only difference was that it was stronger and darker than before. In mere seconds the tiny professor completely disappeared, but seconds later he appeared while the 'quick sand-mud' was still glowing black. "NOW PULL!" the headmistress yelled and Tecna and Bloom.

At that moment the two Winx members pulled quick and hard on the rope. Everyone saw that the 'quick sand-mud' tried it's hardest to keep its hold while Wizgiz stretched out with the rope. Both parties were still pulling as hard as they could when suddenly the 'quick sand-mud' let go and shot the tiny professor high into the sky, and above the tree line. "Oops." Tecna said as she saw the professor cartwheeling into the sky. "It seems he is too tired to transform into a flying creature. Don't worry I'll get him." Bloom said as she quickly flew into the sky and grabbed the professor just as he was about to cartwheel into a tree. "I got you Professor Wizgiz." "O my. Thank you dear Bloom. That was some kind of a ride." The tiny professor said as he held his head.

Once they were back on the ground Bloom looked at the professor looking a bit pale. "Will you be able to stand Professor Wizgiz?" "Yea, yea no worries. Your Professor can handle anything that comes his way." Bloom nodded and started to place the professor gently on his feet. As soon as she let him go he stumbled a few steps before spinning and falling backwards onto the floor. Bloom raced to him "Professor! Are you ok?" "Y-yes my dears… I can promise all three of you that I'm fine… just a little dizzy… with barely any feeling in my legs." Bloom smiled and used her healing powers to see what he meant. "It seems that your legs are a bit numb from the 'quick sand-mud' squeezing them for so long. After some rest you will be fine." Professor Wizgiz just nodded as he passed out.

"Can you watch over him please?" Bloom asked one of the fairies. "Sure." The closest young fairy walked over while being careful not to really touch anything. "Here. Let me see your hands." Bloom told the girl. The fairy nodded and raised her hands, palms up, for Bloom to see. She saw that there were some pretty bad rope burns and large blisters forming on her hands. "O doesn't that hurt?" Cari asked the fairy. "A little… mainly when I touch things…" "Don't worry I'll make it better…" Bloom said as she used her healing magic to completely heal the young fairy's hands. "Wow, that was incredible it was like I was never in pain to begin with." She said as she open and closed her hands in amazement. "Thank you very much." "Your welcome." Bloom said with a smile.

Bloom stood up as soon as she saw that Professor Wizgiz was in good hands and turned to see that the rest of the fairies were around the unconscious witch she and Tecna saw earlier. Bloom saw that Tecna was talking to the headmistress and she went to join them. "How are things Tecna?" "Fine, Bloom. No one has extensive injures. And this one is just exhausted she will be fine after her rest." Tecna said as she nodded to the unconscious witch. "Well, I can help with the minor injuries now…" Bloom started as she turned to face the young fairies, Amy and Jordan. "Everyone hold out your hands, palms up, please." Everyone did as they were told. Bloom saw how much it hurt to just do that motion, she saw how most of their skin was rubbed raw and bleeding with large blisters forming. Naturally those injuries would take a long time to heal.

"Thank you all for trying your absolute best in saving Professor Wizgiz… Now it is my turn to help you…Healing Warmth" Everyone felt the warm glow on their hands and once the glow faded away their hands looked unscathed and healed. The young girls cheered and thanked Bloom. Bloom smiled back before turning to Headmistress Griffin once again. "Shall we head back now? We should get proper shelter for those recovering." "Yes, let's head back to the camp before anything else happens." The headmistress said as she turned and lead the way back to where the rest of the class was.

Once back they saw that everyone was calm and organized and waiting for their return. "Bloom! I see that you guys were able to save Professor Wizgiz." Aisha said as soon as she saw them. "Here let me morph up some more portable beds." Aisha said when she saw two more people unconscious. "Thanks Aisha." "Now let's get ready to head back to camp. We don't want to leave Vulcana alone for very long. Never know what might happen in this forest." Headmistress Griffin said.

"Who is this Vulcana anyway?" Musa asked "I've never seen her before, but she seemed very comfortable in fighting the Trix." Bloom looked at Musa with a smile. "Well, that is a bit of a story…"


	33. Chapter 32: Can this Secret Stay Secret?

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Vulcana, Eldus and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I am so happy that I had time to write the next chapter already! I hope you are as well lol _

_Well, please enjoy and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, mia, nrazeto7500 and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 32  
****Can this secret stay a Secret?**

"Who is this Vulcana anyway?" Musa asked "I've never seen her before, but she seemed very comfortable in fighting the Trix." Bloom looked at Musa with a smile. "Well, that is a bit of a story…"

The Winx took the lead as they traveled back to the Cloud Tower Camp, while Headmistress Griffin took charge of the rear of the group. As they flew through the forest they surrounded and protected the wounded and the ones resting on the transportation beds that Aisha made as they made it back to camp. As they stayed on guard and flew/walked through the forest, Bloom told her friends a bit about what Griffin told her about Vulcana.

* * *

_-Flashback_ -

"Now Bloom, where is the rest of your team?" Griffin asked after she approved the set barriers. "I'm not sure they should have been here by now…" Bloom responded as she looked to her strong glowing bracelet 'At least they are not in grave danger.' "…but I'm sure they are fine… We have to be on alert; I sense the Trix will arrive soon." "Will the Winx arrive before them?" "… I don't think so… but I have a plan… do you have any senior students that have fire abilities? And can your security camouflage creature camouflage anything he touches or just himself?" "Yes, there is one student who mainly uses fire based powers… and Bruno can disguise anything as long as he wishes or touches… why?' "Since I am supposed to be dead, meaning I can't be seen, and you can't fight alone, I think I have a way to fight with you." "But how can you be involved without the Trix finding out? You can't fight!" "I can't fight while being seen… but I can fight if the Trix don't think it's me they are fighting." At that moment Griffin knew what Bloom meant as she looked into the fairy's deep blue eyes and saw that mischievous smirk on her face. "You are very clever, Bloom… for a fairy." "Thank you headmistress. Now which student uses fire?"

Griffin looked down in the clearing and pointed to a student, with purple hair and blue highlights in a dark blue skin tight short dress with bat pattern blue leggings and black booties, giving some orders to her classmates. "Her name is Vulcana. She is the student body president, she is the best in the school and the base of her magic is fire, as well as some lightening." "Now the bigger question is: Can she be trusted? Or will she be easily swayed to the Trix side?"

Bloom saw that Griffin was starting to glare at her. "Now I mean no offense Headmistress, but as you know when the Trix took over Cloud Tower and changed you into a crow, most of your student body sided with the Trix and willingly assisted them in their evil plans. Now I know that the freshman and sophomore classes mainly followed them in fear, but the junior and senior classes had a choice to flee and seek refuge at other colleges or even stand up against the Trix…" Bloom paused to take a closer look at the witch in question. "…And I think I remember that young witch being very determined to fight against us when the Trix took over Linphea College."

"Ah yes, I heard about that situation. It was one of her darkest moments, but she told me she had no regrets." Griffin said as she began to recall that difficult time. "What do you mean? Is she that easily turned?" Bloom asked curiously. "That is far from what I mean, Bloom. I mean the only way for her to betray the force of good is if her sister is endangered." "Her sister?! I thought witches don't really care for one another, including family." Griffin shrugged at the comment "She is one of the few witches who ignore that little recommendation. She has a young sister who is currently in the freshman class. They are the only family that they have to each other, after their parents died during a horrible earthquake on their home planet. I heard that all four of them were buried under their home, when they were found they saw that the parents shielded their two girls from the debris. That was the only way that the two of them survived."

"What does that have to do with siding with the Trix?" "The Trix held Vulcana's sister captive and ordered her to do their bidding if she wanted to save her sister. When Vulcana tried to fight back, they beat her sister in front of her while she was bound until she vowed her allegiance. They kept her in the dungeon with the other students that opposed them and became ill just before you Winx saved the school. Any later and she might not have made it."

Bloom looked at the headmistress with absolute shock "How could they do anything so horrible? Why were they that determined to have Vulcana on their side?" Bloom asked with a hint of tears in her eyes. "Because, Bloom, she was the youngest Student Body President Cloud Tower has seen since Icy. You must understand that in order to be Cloud Tower's Student Body President you need to be the strongest witch not only in your class, but in the whole school. Because of her skill she was followed without question by practically the whole school, they listened to her and would do whatever she asked of them." Bloom nodded in understanding "So in order to get the followers they needed, Vulcana had to be on their side and convince the student body to follow the Trix without question. So they had to have leverage on her to ensure she wouldn't betray them or start a rebellion." "Yes." Griffin said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

"That is why she had no regrets in following the Trix… she would do anything if it ensured her sister's safety… I can understand that… I would do the same for my family… for Cari…" Bloom said as she showed a face of longing for a slight moment before she returned to her focused expression. "Who is Cari?" The headmistress asked the red haired fairy. "She's a wonderful little girl I found in the sacred forest on Domino. I'm trying to find her parents… and get her away from this dangerous world…" Bloom said with a slightly sad smile. "If you found her abandoned in a forest there might be a chance that she doesn't have parents or they no longer wanted her." Bloom shook her head at that thought "I don't believe that… Cari is a bright, sweet, loving, wonderful girl there is no way her parents abandoned her." "Hmm… maybe you should just adopt her… if you don't find her biological parents I mean." Griffin said with a knowing smile.

"No… I can't. She doesn't belong to this dangerous world of mine." Bloom said with a firm no question tone. "No one truly belongs to the dangers of the universe, it is just a matter of how one lives in it. Like your parents, they fought for what is right and they still have a loving family." Griffin told Bloom with a reassuring smile. "But how much pain, suffering and loneliness had to happen before we could even think of being a happy family? My parents were imprisoned in stone for about 20 years while Daphne was technically dead for longer than that… I don't want Cari to go through the same heartache I did… especially if it can be avoided. I've been taken down once, but stood again… but who knows if that will happen again…" Bloom said with deep sorrow in voice. Griffin knew that there was nothing to say, those were the facts that the Domino royal family had endured to give peace to the magical universe, and there was no guarantee that they're story would always end with a happy ending.

After a quick moment Bloom just whipped away a stray tear and turned to look at Vulcana who was still giving some orders to her classmates. "Well, I guess it is safe to say that she will be excellent in executing this plan. And she looks like she has the confidence to go up against the Trix. This plan could just work." Bloom said as she watched the young witch. Griffin nodded before calling out to the student. "Miss Vulcana!" the purple haired witch looked up and nodded before turning back to her fellow students giving them her final orders and then flying up to meet with Bloom and the Headmistress. "Yes, Headmistress?" "Miss Vulcana we are going to need your assistance in the fight with the Trix. Well, more like Bloom will need your assistace." The young witch turned to red haired fairy "How can I be of help to you, Bloom?" 'Well, better not sugar coat it…' "I need you to fight the Trix in my stead."

The look of pure shock appeared on Vulcana's face. "W-why? Why can't you fight them, Bloom? I can't possibly win against the Trix. They are too powerful, pretty much only the covenant of light can defeat them and you are currently missing practically all your members…" Bloom looked at the young witch with a raised eyebrow at her comment. "Uh… Sure you can stand up against them and even defeat them on your own, but I know I have absolutely no chance." The witch added with a slight blush of embarrassment. Bloom smiled kindly to the witch. "Right now the Trix can't find out that I am alive that's why I need your help in tricking them. And don't worry Vulcana, you won't be fighting them alone. I will be with you the entire time." The young witch looked at the fairy with pure confusion "How?" "With a little help from Bruno." Bloom smiled as she glanced to look at Griffin. Vulcana smiled and nodded when she understood what Bloom was getting at.

"Ok then what do you need me to do?" "Well basically I just need you to fight like you normally would, but mainly using your fire based attacks. Once you send your spell I will send a spell at the same time, boosting yours and making it more powerful. That is why it would be better if you used fire based attacks. Since fire is my specialty, it will be easier for me to back you up faster than with other elements." The young witch nodded slowly "Ok that sounds easy enough… but wait… the Trix knew me fairly well when they took over Cloud Tower last time… they know that I am not strong enough to face them… they might figure out that something is not right…"

"hmm… good point… well they can be fairly gullible so let's just tell the Trix a little lie shall we?" Bloom said with a mischievous smile as she began to conjure up something right above her right hand. "Oo wow that's so pretty." Vulcana said as she saw the beautiful gold thick band bracelet that was intricately weaved into a snake braid. It was simple, but very eye catching. "Is that an enchanted bracelet?" Vulcana asked "Actually no, not yet at least." Bloom said with a smile "I bought this on earth on one of my shopping sprees with Stella. But we will use this in our lie to the Trix." "How can a pretty bracelet help in that?" "Well, you are going to tell them that you won it on a fairy trial and it boosts your power ten-fold. But first I will enchant it myself to protect you from any severe attacks." Bloom concentrated on the bracelet and closed her hand around it.

When she opened her hand once more to show the bracelet to Vulcana, the young witch's eyes glowed with awe at the now lightly glowing bracelet, which shined bright every time the sun even delicately hit it. It looked very magical. "Here you go, Vulcana." Bloom reached out to hand the bracelet to the young witch, who took it delicately in her hands. "You really think this will work?" Vulcan said as she looked at the now very beautiful bracelet. "I believe so. You just need to be very convincing so that they will believe it." Bloom said with a smile as she saw Vulcana slip on the bracelet on her left hand and saw it hang gingerly off her wrist.

Vulcana's expression changed from awe to seriousness as she looked up to look at her headmistress and Bloom. "Umm… do you think I have enough time to speak to my sister before the Trix arrive?" Bloom looked to Headmistress Griffin and slightly nodded. "Yes, you still have a short moment to go and speak to your sister. But make haste they will arrive at any moment." Griffin said with a soft smile. Vulcana nodded and flew down to the freshman class to look for her sister.

"You were right about her Headmistress. She is mainly loyal to her sister, that is very good sign." Bloom said with an approving smile. "You are right Bloom. I can see that she will be capable of many great things." The headmistress said with Bloom's same smile as she and the young fairy watched the Cloud Tower Students prepare for the Trix's arrival.

-_End of Flashback_ -

* * *

"Wow. It was a good thing that you were able to find a witch that you could trust… that is very rare." Aisha said after Bloom finished her story. "Yes, I was very lucky and pleased with her fighting skill today. And I am sure she kept everything in order while we were gone." Bloom said as she led the group back into the clearing where the Cloud Tower witches camped. When they entered the camp they saw that everyone was back to the activities that they were doing before Bloom arrived.

When they noticed the Winx and the Alfea class the one closest stopped what they were doing and went over to greet them. "Headmistress Griffin! You are back!" "Call Vulcana!" another witch exclaimed. In a short moment Vulcana came running from across the clearing. "Headmistress! Bloom! Welcome back! Is anyone injured?" Vulcana said as she looked around and saw the Alfea professors unconscious in beds and everyone else looking worn out. As soon as they stepped into the clearing most of the Alfea class and the witches sat down on the ground to rest. Vulcana turned around and ordered the group of witches closest to the cafeteria. "Grab some water and food and bring it over!" They nodded and ran inside to grab enough for the exhausted group.

"Is everyone ok?" Vulcana asked Bloom "Yes, they are just tired is all. A good days rest and everyone will be back to normal." Bloom said with a smile. "How are things here?" "Perfectly fine. No one is injured and no real damage was done to the camp. But it was a very good idea to put up that barrier that repels attacks. It seems that there were a lot of lightning bolts that strayed towards the clearing but they were easily deflected. Thank you Bloom, your plan worked perfectly well." Vulcana said with a bright smile and a glimpse to her right. Bloom followed her sight and saw a young witch with red short hair and purple highlights, wearing jeans and a purple blouse with bat pattern lace trimmings. 'That must be Vulcana's younger sister.' Bloom thought with a smile and nodded towards the young girl.

"And thank you Vulcana. Without your help my plan would have been a bust. You were outstanding out there and stood up very nicely against the Trix." Vulcana blushed at the praise and just nodded her head. As she looked down she saw that she was still wearing the bracelet Bloom gave her. She slipped it off her wrist and held it up to red haired fairy. "Here Bloom… I almost forgot to give this back to you." Bloom smiled "Keep it, Vulcana. Think of it as your reward for a fairy trial. And don't worry that enchantment will hold forever, and its strength will never fade either." Bloom said with a playful wink. Vulcana smiled brightly as she grasped the bracelet tightly in her hands. "Thank you very much Bloom!" Vulcana said with a bright smile and a slight bow. "No thank _you_ for helping to keep my secret and my family safe." Bloom said with eyes full of gratitude.

Bloom turned to see the Aflea students still resting. "We should prepare to transport the fairies back to Alfea. It is getting dark soon it will be more dangerous for them then." The Winx and the headmistress nodded in agreement. "Winx let's do a convergence based on Aisha's morphix powers to make a large transportation platform big enough to hold all the fairies at once. We will take to the skies as soon as we can." Bloom put Cari down as the Winx nodded and gathered together and held hands. "Winx Convergence!"

Once they finished making the large platform the fairies started to gradually climb on top and sit down, after they gently placed their sleeping professors on the middle of the platform. They were amazed at how soft and relaxing it felt. Bloom turned to the headmistress. "We must be off Headmistress Griffin. Please call upon us if there is anything else you need." "Thank you very much for your help Winx. Without you we might have had to face some casualties. Thank you for protecting my students." The Winx nodded and said their goodbyes as they took to the skies.

"Wait, Bloom. I'm forgetting something." Cari said as Bloom made a move to pick her up, then stopped when Cari spoke. "What is it, Cari?" "the shield that I rode on. I should give that back to the Specialties. I kinda took it without asking." Cari said as she looked around the clearing searching for the shield. "oo ok." Bloom said as she too looked around the clearing. "Are you looking for this?" Vulcana's younger sister asked as she stepped forward while holding the shield that Cari brought with her. "Yes, thank you!" Cari said as she ran towards the young witch.

Bloom looked down and saw how big the shield was compared to Cari's small body. "Do you need help in carrying that, sweetie?" Cari looked up and smiled "No, it's ok Bloom. I'll just levitate on it." The tiny fairy slowly tilted the shield down and got on it like she did when she arrived and began to concentrate until she raised higher and higher into the sky. Bloom giggled and began to fly behind her tiny charge, but not before looking back and saying her final goodbyes to the Cloud Tower witches.

Once she was high above the tree line she saw that Musa, Aisha, Flora and Tecna were waiting next to the floating platform full of Alfea fairies, for her and Cari. "Alright Tecna lead the way back to Alfea." Tecna nodded and led the way. "We should hurry. Who knows how well Stella is fairing with that test of hers." Musa said with laughter in her eyes. Bloom stuck close to Cari at the end of the group. "Your right Musa. Knowing Stella she is probably running around worried. Let's hurry back." The Winx laughed as they flew back to Alfea.

* * *

"Well, welcome back my dear Trix." Eldus said without looking up as he read the book in his hands. "Did you fair well?" he asked in a bored tone "Ugh… not really. That stupid creature made it back to Griffin and probably told her were here." Stormy whined "we should probably head out soon, and we didn't have enough time to look for the answer we needed." Darcy complained

"Sisters don't you think that battle was a bit odd? It kinda seemed that that young witch was stronger than she should've been." Icy wondered out loud. "Well, yea but it was all thanks to that enchanted bracelet that she got on a stupid fairy trial. Without that there would be no way for her to even stand up against us." Stormy said as she jumped down on a nearby couch.

"An enchanted bracelet from a fairy you say?" Eldus asked as he started to sound more interested in this conversation as he closed the book he was reading. "Do tell me more." So the Trix told Eldus their fight and defeat at the Cloud Tower camp.

"Hmm… how peculiar…" Eldus commented as he got into a meditation sitting position and started to chant. "Umm… what are you doing?" Stormy asked the sorcerer. "I am meditating… why don't you three come join me?" Eldus said as he closed his eyes and held out his hands for the Trix to grab. "Umm… mediation is for fairies and last time I checked we are witches." Darcy said as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Meditation serves to look into your memories and recover things that you might have otherwise forgotten." Eldus said with his hands still outreached. "I don't want to." Stormy said as she turned her head away from Eldus. He slightly opened his eyes and the Trix were frozen on the spot and the cold and dangerous look he gave them. "I won't ask again… won't you three please come join me?"

The Trix nodded and mumbled their agreement as they slowly went to sit beside Eldus. Darcy reached over and held Eldus' left hand, Stormy reached over and held Eldus' right hand, while Icy held each of her sister's free hands as she settled directly in front of Eldus. "Good. Now concentrate ladies, on the battle you just fought… from beginning to end, and don't skip any detail." As the Trix concentrated Eldus saw everything the Trix remembered.

That was when he saw something interesting 'Now it seems that young witch has someone hiding and fighting beside her… hmm… now why does that energy feel familiar?... hmm… wait… I recognize that power… how could I forget it… but only one in this era had it… and I killed it…'' Eldus pondered as he focused all the memories on that young witch, Vulcana. Eldus chuckled as soon as it hit him.

As the memories continued it came to the point where he saw the shield fly into play. 'Wait that shield carries a familiar aura to that ghostly figure behind that Vulcana… how could two extremely similar powers exist at the same time?...' After some thought his eyes shot open. 'oo how perfectly delicious… those fairies are trying to hide two secrets from me…' Eldus smiled at this discovery but his smile died away as he thought about the dangers this second power held for him.

'But wait it feels small and new… so it hasn't had time to fully pick which side to play on… meaning I can trick it to follow me!' Eldus started to laugh while the Trix looked at him like he had gone mad 'oo this is going to be one interesting game.'


	34. Chapter 33: The Dream

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Bianca298, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 33  
****TheDream**

As the Winx landed in the front, deserted courtyard of Alfea they were greeted only by Headmistress Faragonda and Griselda. "Welcome back, Winx. Thank you for escorting our beloved students back safely." the headmistress asked "I do hope all fared well?" Griselda asked as she adjusted her glasses. "It became a bit complicated and it resulted in Professor Palladium and Professor Wizgiz exhausting themselves. So they will be unconscious for a while until they recover their strength." Bloom said as she stepped aside to show a few students moving the two sleeping professors on their transportation beds off the platform. Once all the students were off the platform the Winx released the spell and it disappeared in a bunch of tiny bubbles. "oo dear. We should take them to the infirmary immediately." The headmistress said in concern when she saw how exhausted the class looked.

Bloom nodded "Aisha can you and Flora go and take the professors and the students to the infirmary please?" "Sure Bloom" "Of course Bloom." Aisha and Flora responded with a smile, as they turned to start guiding the class and the professors towards the medical wing. Bloom smiled after them before turning back to ask the headmistress a question. "Headmistress Faragonda, why is it so quiet here? Where is Stella? Where are the Specialists?" Faragonda smiled with laughter dancing in her eyes as she glanced at Griselda. "We can explain both questions as we head to the auditorium."

"Umm… ok, sure…" Bloom looked at the headmistress in confusion. Bloom looked down at Cari and saw that she was still using the shield to levitate. "Are you tied sweetie? Want me to carry you?" Cari looked up and shook her head. "Nope I'm still good. And it's easier for me to levitate the shield than to carry it." "Ok but don't tire yourself out too much ok?" "Ok Bloom" the young fairy said with a big smile.

"Shall we go visit Miss Stella and free my students." The headmistress said with laughter in her eyes. "What do you think she means by that?" Musa whispered to Tecna. "Not sure. Stella does tend to go to the extremes when we leave her alone." Tecna said with a smirk. "I guess we will find out soon enough."

"So, headmistress Faragonda you said that you were going to explain on the way to the auditorium." "Impatient aren't we Bloom?" "I'm not impatient per say… just worried in what kind of trouble Stella has gotten herself into while we were gone." The headmistress giggled "Just tell them Griselda." Griselda adjusted her glasses "Humph… very well. As you Winx know Stella is still in the middle of my test. And the requirement was that she had to take my place and do everything I had to today." "Yea, what about it?" "Well, since there was this emergency situation with the Trix. I have a protocol where I assemble all the students in the auditorium, take roll call and assure that all the students are safe until the dangers have passed. The only thing is that I would normally have the senior class assist me, but since the senior class was out with the witches Stella is doing everything on her own, and forced the Specialists to help her." Griselda said as she pushed open the doors to the auditorium.

When the doors opened everyone was surprised at what they saw. Stella was flying back and forth from one side of the large auditorium and making sure none of the extremely bored and sleepy students moved from their assigned seats and are paying attention to the 'in-case of emergency drills' the annoyed/bored faced Specialists were performing on the stage. "Umm… I think she's out for your job, Griselda…" "I think she's actually worse than Griselda, Bloom." "I concur with your statement Musa." Tecna said in shock at the sight before them.

Suddenly their shock was interrupted "Musa! Bloom! Tecna! Thank goodness! Please save us!" Riven yelled as he jumped off the stage and ran towards his girlfriend. Once he reached her he gave her a quick hug and turned to face the fairy of the shinning sun. "Can you guys please tell Stella that we are no longer in danger? And no longer need to stay copped up in this place. She won't listen to reason." The present Winx looked at their friend in shock "Hey Stella… what cha doing?" Bloom asked at her slightly crazed looking best friend. "Bloom! Your back! How'd it go? Are you ok?" the blonde fairy asked as she tackled her friend in a hug. "Yea, everything went fine we saved Cloud Tower from any casualties or major injuries and we drove the Trix away. W-what are you doing?" Bloom asked while she looked around the auditorium.

"oo nothing…just following Griselda's guidebook instructions." Stella took out the notebook that Griselda gave her earlier that day and opened it to read the passage out loud. "In the event of an emergency gather all the students in the auditorium. Do a full roll call (have senior class assist you), ensure all students are present and if not determine their location immediately. Once all are present set up the protective barriers with the seniors. Once the barriers are up, go help the headmistress and leave the senior class in charge of the safety of the rest of the students and instructing the student body on the safety protocols." Stella closed her book when she finished. "But since Griselda said she needed me to protect the students since the seniors were away I stayed with the Specialists and we began teaching the safety protocols."

"More like you made us look ridiculous and perform your stupid made up play over and over again!" Riven complained. "You wouldn't even let the students stand and wander about." Riven finished as he crossed his hands. "It was for their own safety! They could panic if they start to wander and thinking about other things besides the safety protocols." "umm… well… that's… an idea, Stella." Musa said with some concern in her eyes. "Well… now that it is safe how about we let these fairies get back to their normal day?" Bloom said with a wry smile to her best friend.

"Are you sure?" "Yes, Stella I'm pretty sure. We drove away the Trix and everything is perfectly fine." "Oh ok then." Stella turned around "Ok everyone it is safe to leave now!" Cheers erupted from both fairies and Specialists as everyone, besides the Winx and their boyfriends, ran out of the auditorium. "I didn't think it was that bad…" Stella said with a pouty face. "Don't worry, my beautiful Princess. I know that they appreciate it in their own way" Brandon said as he kissed his fiancé.

"Well, you did your job admirably Stella. Thank you for keeping my dear students safe during this whole ordeal." The headmistress said with a gentle smile. "Yes, Stella I couldn't have done it better myself. And would you look at the time… it seems that the day is over." Stella looked at the setting sun and was shocked to see that the day was already over. "Oo looks like your right…" Stella smiled and started to hand over the notebook to Griselda, but her face suddenly dropped. "No! the day can't be over yet. I still have a lot to do on your list! Everyone is counting on me! No! I can't fail this test!" Stella started to panic as she held the notebook close to her chest. Brandon got worried and put a supporting arm around her shoulders.

"Oo so you didn't complete all the tasks that were assigned to be done for today? Interesting…" Griselda said as she adjusted her glasses. "And how much, dare I ask, did you complete?" Stella paused at Griselda's question and slowly opened the book to the checklist. "umm… I only finished 37… of the 56 tasks… you gave me." Griselda paused and stared at the blonde fairy with her stone cold face. "Hmm… so you only completed 66% of my checklist…"

"Griselda please don't be so hard on Stella." Bloom said "Yes, please give her another chance." Tecna added. "A lot happened today. It wasn't her fault that the Trix were up to no good." Musa finished. 'Sigh' "Thanks girls, but whatever Miss Griselda decides is fine with me. I should've been more aware with the time. I trust she will make the right decision." Stella said with some tears in her eyes as she handed over the notebook to Griselda.

"Very mature words Stella. Perhaps you have grown after all." Griselda said with a smile. "And that's why I have no reservations in giving you my family's most precious treasure." "Wait, what?!" Stella exclaimed as she gaped at Griselda. "How?" "Well, Stella I had full intention of giving you the Gem of Lilith in the first place." She said with a shrug "You Winx have proven yourselves plenty worthy time and time again, I have no doubts that you will take good care of this precious and dangerous artifact." Griselda said with a smirk. "What?! Then why did I have to do this whole test thing?!" "Well, for two main reasons. One, I felt it was time for you to understand what responsibility is and how hard it is to this job since you always tend to demean what I do here. Second and more importantly, I really just wanted a vacation, but I needed to make sure as many tasks were completed and done as I would have done it." Griselda said with a shrug and triumphant smile.

The fairy of the shinning sun stared at Griselda with complete shock, mouth gaped. Before Stella could burst in anger Bloom stepped in. "Umm… thank you Griselda for everything. We appreciate it." Bloom said with a smile and slight bow. Griselda nodded back and took a step forward, unbuttoned the top of her blouse and pulled out a medium length necklace with a small thunderbolt charm on and held it out in her right hand. As she did, it started to glow light green and be surrounded in a bright orb. It got brighter and brighter when it suddenly burst in a loud thunderclap. Everyone shielded their eyes and when they were able to open them again they saw a beautiful medium sized (as big as your hand) light silver encrusted lightning bolt shaped artifact, that shimmered with the light, with small emeralds tracing down the middle of the bolt, with three small purple beads on the each side of the artifact.

"Oo wow that looks beautiful. But it looks very different than the picture that was in the book that Daphne showed us." Bloom said with awe. "Yes, it turns out that after generations of collecting energy it slowly started to change its shape. We noticed that it would change its appearance more once the new inheritor would take hold of it. We never understood why, our elders would assume it would reflect the powers we have inside, but it was just a theory. We take pride in it even though it is considered one of the most dangerous items in history." Griselda said as she looked at the gem with nostalgia. "I will take good care of it." Stella said as she reached out her hand to accept the gem. "I know you will Stella. Thank you." Griselda smiled as she gently placed her family's Gem of Lilith in the blonde fairy's hand. Everyone was surprised when they saw the gem's color changing. Gold was starting to mix with the silver making the gem more beautiful. Once it finished changing, the gem looked mainly gold with silver accents. It looked like the sunny bright sky with hidden stars. "Wow…" Stella commented as she looked at the gem in her hands.

"I congratulate you Stella on this triumph of yours; I know you Winx will do us proud. Now if you will excuse us we need to make sure our students are ready for 'lights out'." Headmistress Faragonda said with a sweet smile. "Thank you for everything Headmistress. We should get some rest for it has been a long day." Bloom said with a smile as looked at her friends and saw how exhausted they all looked. Everyone nodded and followed Faragonda and Griselda out of the auditorium where they met up with Flora and Aisha.

"How did it go? Did anything happen while we were in the infirmary?" Aisha asked when she and Flora saw the Winx and the Specialists walking towards them. "You won't believe this!" Stella started to exclaim "I went through sooo MUCH stress just for Griselda to take a small Vacation!" "What do you mean Stella?" Flora asked in confusion. "I mean that Griselda was going to give us the Gem of Lilith whether I completed her list or not. All she wanted was to relax for a day and stress me out! I think I grew a grey hair because of it." The blonde fairy said as she closely looked at some stands of hair. Aisha tried her best not to laugh in front of the fairy. "Well at least you got the Gem right?" Flora asked. Stella nodded "Yup, I got it right here." She pulled out the Gem from her pocket to show Flora and Aisha. "Awesome! Great Job Stella!" Aisha exclaimed. "Yes, you did wonderfully!" Flora added "Thanks girls. Well, let's get to bed I'm exhausted I could sleep for a week." Stella said as she tucked the Gem in her pocket and led everyone back to their rooms. The Winx followed after her, holding hands with their Specialist.

Once the boys walked the Winx to their rooms and kissed their girlfriends good night, the Winx entered their rooms to settle down for the night. Only Bloom, Sky and Cari stayed together a little longer.

Cari finally landed on the ground besides Sky and slowly got off the shield. "Here you go Sky. I'm returning the shield I… umm… borrowed. I'm sorry that I took it without permission." Cari said as she tried to stand the shield up to give to Sky. Sky bent down and picked up the shield with ease. "What you did was very dangerous, Cari, and shouldn't be done again. You are still too young and inexperienced to go into battle and handle things by yourself." Sky saw that the young girl nodded with some tears in her eyes. "But you were brave and did the right thing. If you hadn't gone Bloom might've been in danger as well as the witches. So good job today." Sky said with a bright smile as he patted Cari on the head. Cari looked up surprised that she got praise after her scolding and returned the bright smile followed by a huge yawn.

"Well, it looks like it's someone's bed time." Bloom said as Sky stood up with Cari in his arms. Bloom giggled at the sleepy girl's dozing face before extending her arms to grab the young girl from her beloved's arms. Once in her arms Bloom reached out and kissed her fiancé "Good night Sky. We will see you in the morning." "Good night, Bloom. Good night Cari. Sweet dreams." Sky leaned in and gave Bloom another sweet kiss on her soft lips and then turned to kiss Cari gently on her forehead. Bloom smiled sweetly as she turned and entered the Winx's apartment and tucked Cari in. "You were very brave today. Now have sweet dreams, Cari."

Bloom went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. 'I wonder how long it will take for Eldus and the Trix to realize that we have the Gem of Lilith. I hope it will be long enough for me to find a way to defeat Eldus." She walked out of the bathroom and towards the bed. Once she saw Cari's peaceful sleeping face, Bloom smiled and relaxed immediately. 'I can't believe how easily she calms me.' Bloom cupped the child's face. 'What I wouldn't do for you Cari…but I should find your parents soon…' Bloom got into bed beside the sleeping child and turned off the light and was fast asleep as soon as she laid her down on the pillow.

* * *

'W-what… w-where am I?' the young princess of Domino wondered as she looked around the empty white space she found herself in. "Hello? Is there anyone here? HELLO?!""This way Bloom…" a distant voice called out. "Who are you?! … Where are you?!" Bloom exclaimed as she looked around furiously. "Come…Come this way, my guardian…" Bloom turned around and saw something in the distance. "Your my Sacred Partner, aren't you?" Bloom started to run towards whatever she did see. As she got closer and closer it started to become clearer and clearer. "Is that the Sacred Forest of Domino?" As soon as she said that she immediately found herself in the middle of its dense trees. Before her she saw a beautiful large cascading waterfall with high cliffs around it. It was pooling into a large beautiful and clear pool at the base, that spread out to smaller little falls as the water flowed down a connecting river. This wondrous place was surrounded by many trees and flowers. It looked like a serene calming picture.

"What? Where are you?" Bloom exclaimed as she looked around. "I am wherever you go, young guardian, yet still far away." "I don't understand…" "You will soon enough… the time has come, Bloom." "Time? Time for what?" "For us to officially meet. I know you have been training your mind and body during all your free time and at night when everyone slumbers. I know you are more ready to be my partner now than you were to begin with." "Ok… so where do we meet?" the disembodied voice chuckled at the red haired fairy's question "You know where to find me… let the flame lead you to me." "But where do I start?"

"I have already shown you where I reside. But before you start you need to bring with you the locket that Jeanne gave her beloved King all those centuries ago." "A locket? Why? Where can I find it?" "I believe your sister has already discovered its whereabouts, now all you need to do is bring it to me." "Ok but where in the sacred forest do I find you? It's a huge place to search on my own." "I told you… let the flame guide you… I expect to see you soon…but be warned you must make haste, time is running out… the dangers are approaching faster than anticipated now…" "You mean Eldus? But we got the Gem! We have the upper hand, now!" "You must hurry, sacred guardian… you must hurry… hurry." "Wait!..." Bloom exclaimed as she heard the dragon's voice slowly fade away.

"Bloom!" the princess turned around and saw that the forest disappeared, instead she saw a tiny girl running towards her with her arms outstretched. "Cari? Cari!" Bloom started to run towards the girl, but no matter how much she ran she could not reach her. Suddenly Eldus' evil laugh ran out and a dark ominous cloud appeared from behind Cari. "No! Cari Look OUT!" "It's too late Jeanne's descendent this child belongs to me now!" Suddenly the dark cloud ate up the tiny girl. Bloom's heart dropped as she heard Cari's frightened screams. "NO! CARI!" "BLOOM! HELP ME!"

"ELDUS! GIVE HER BACK! TAKE ME INSTEAD!" "You should've saved her princess of the sacred flame. You had the power but you were too scared to release it. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Now you will lose it all… just as I did!" Eldus evil laugh rang out and shook Bloom's very core, until she heard a soft whisper. "Bloom…" "Cari. Cari where are you?!" Bloom looked closely in the dark cloud and saw her little charge's body sitting in midair with her knees curled up in front of her, covering her face. "I-it's cold… I'm s-scared… w-why couldn't you p-protect me?... you p-promised you would always protect m-me… y-you p-promised…" Cari whispered in-between sobs and shivers as she started to levitate back away from Bloom. Bloom started to run and reached out in hopes of reaching her. "NO! CARI! COME BACK! COME BACK!"

Bloom woke with a start, reaching out inthe thin air in front of her as she abruptly sat up, and gasping to catch her breath as her heart beat incredibly fast. She slowly turned to look at Cari still sleeping peacefully beside her. Bloom carefully reached out to touch the young girl and took deep breaths to calm herself when her fingers made contact. She gently brushed a few strands from the child's sleeping face and sighed in relief. 'She's here. She's ok. She's safe. It's ok…' She then looked out the window, at the crescent moon in the sky. 'We will return to Domino first thing in the morning…"


	35. Chapter 34: Who is Cari's Family!

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Hey Guys I just wanted to let you guys know that I am trying to compete in a contest that is having. Since it requires a completed story i THINK i can finish this story in less than 15 days... i dunno if i can but i will try. I think there is hope since i plan to have the climax of the story soon._

_So i will be reviewing all previous chapters, making some changes and hopefully posting the last chapters VERY soon!_

_So i hope you guys can support me OR post your own completed stories OR just read the other awesome fanfic writers competing. Thanks! Loves you guys! Wish me luck! XDOo well, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 34  
****Who is Cari's Family?!**

Bloom looked down at the giggling bouncing child next to her. "What is so funny, Cari?" "Nothing. I just had so much fun in the bath with you. It was funny." Bloom giggled with the little girl "Oh? What was funny about it?" "How funny we both looked with bubble beards and hats!" Cari said while laughing even louder and Bloom laughing along with her. "Hey! I think I looked pretty good in a bubble beard. After all Sky says I look good in anything." Bloom said with a wink that made Cari laugh all the more. "I bet he will disagree, and think that I look much better in the bubble beard than you." Cari said with a teasingly smug look. "oo is that so? Then we should ask him. But don't get your hopes up… cuz he wouldn't want to get on my bad side." Bloom said with a teasing smile as she sparked a little fire in her hand. "But he wouldn't want to hurt such a cute little girl's feelings, and make me cry. I'm pretty sure he will choose me." Cari said as she teasingly stuck her tongue out. "Well, he probably won't choose either of us…" Bloom looked at the time "Because we are very late for breakfast." Bloom said as he showed the child the time. "Oh no! Breakfast is going to be over soon!" Cari and Bloom both looked panicked as they rushed down to the cafeteria.

They both stopped in front of the large cafeteria doors. "Ok, remember it is unladylike to rush in. We will calmly walk in like we meant to be this fashionably late." "Like Stella always is, right?" "Exactly." Bloom said with a smile as she opened the door.

"Bloom over here!" Sky exclaimed as soon as he saw them enter the cafeteria. Bloom looked up to see Sky waving at the far end of the cafeteria next to the Winx and Specialists. Bloom waved back as she and Cari walked over to them while holding hands. "We were wondering what happened to you guys." Sky asked as he gave Bloom a quick kiss on the lips and Cari a kiss on the head. "Sorry we got a little distracted." Bloom said as she winked at the tiny girl who started to laugh. "You guys better hurry or you won't get any breakfast." Stella said to her best friend. "Oh no! Let's go Cari." The tiny girl nodded as they rushed to order their food. They were surprised when Sky ordered with them.

"Sky don't tell me you waited for us." Bloom asked her fiancé "Of course I did. I am a gentleman after all." He said with a wink. Bloom shook her head and smiled "My wonderfully polite prince."

They sat down next to each other with the rest of the Winx and Specialists, and they began to enjoy their breakfast. Sky had eggs, bacon and toast, Bloom had a fruit salad with yogurt, while Cari had pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream on top. "How can you just eat fruit Bloom?" Sky asked as he looked down at her seemingly small meal. "Fruit is very filling and it tastes sweet." Bloom said as she popped a strawberry into her mouth. "Hmm… I don't know about that." "Of course it is… here why don't you try one." Bloom said as she grabbed a small strawberry and held it up for Sky to taste. "Don't mind if I do." The young prince said with his mischievous smirk. He leaned forward but not to eat the strawberry. He leaned in to give his surprised fiancé a deep kiss.

After he pulled away, Sky licked his lips and winked at the blushing red haired fairy. "You were right it was very sweet." Shocked Bloom just sat there frozen and turned a deeper red when she heard Riven whistle. "S-sky! W-why…" "What?" Sky said with a shrug "You told me to try the sweet strawberry and I did. You were right I did like it." He said with another wink. Bloom didn't know what to say after that. "Awww you guys are so cute in love! I love it!" Cari said with a huge smile and dazzling eyes. Bloom was shocked back at the young girl's words and smiled back "Yup your right sweetie. I do love this goofball."

In that moment Tecna got a notification on her phone. 'Hmm… looks like the results of Cari's DNA is back… let's take a look… wait… this can't be right!' Tecna looked up from reading her phone and stared at Cari from the end of the table. She looked down to read the results once more to make sure. 'No… there's something wrong here… I'm gonna need to look at the program… that means I need to go back to Domino where I left my system…for once I don't know how to logically think about this…'

Once everyone finished their breakfast, Bloom decided to tell them her plan: "Everyone, I am going back to Domino today." "What, why?" Sky asked "Now that we have the Gem of Lilith I think it is time to prepare for the final fight with Eldus. I need to go back home and find my sacred partner and train with him." "We can go with you." Stella told her best friend. "Thanks Stella. But you guys should stay here and train with the Specialists as well as train the students. They will also need to be prepared to fight just in case Eldus comes this way." Stella slowly nodded with a concerned face.

"I will be going with you Bloom" Sky said as he reached out and grabbed her hand. "But Sky…" the young prince gave his fiancé a look of pure determination as he slightly squeezed her hand. With that Bloom knew that she lost that fight. "Okay Sky you can come." "I'm coming too, Right?!" Cari asked "Of course you are sweetie. You will get to spend time with Daphne and my parents." Bloom said as she patted the small girl on the head. "Yay!" Cari said with glee.

"Bloom I am coming with you." Tecna said as she looked at her phone. "But Tecna you should stay here and help the Winx with the training." Bloom said. Tecna just shook her head. "I need to go back to Domino and check the system I left running there. It is very important." Tecan looked up and Bloom saw how serious she was in going. That was when she saw Tecna quickly glance at Cari who was focused on drinking the last bit of her orange juice. 'This must be about Cari's family… maybe she found them…' Bloom nodded "Ok Tecna the four of us will be going back to Domino."

"When are you leaving Bloom?" Aisha asked. "Now."

* * *

"Darling! Welcome back!" "Welcome back Cari, Sky, and Tecna." The king and queen of Domino exclaimed as they each gave their youngest daughter a hug. "What brings you back here so soon, my dear? We thought that Griselda would've kept you longer." "Nope it was only a hard test for Stella, but thanks to her we got the Gem." Bloom said as she showed a picture the Gem in Stella's hands to her parents "But now that we got it I am worried that Eldus is going to soon find out that we have it." "Then why are you not with your friends and training together." "Well mom the thing is that…I had a dream last night… my sacred partner told me that I need to find him and start my training with him, immediately." "Bloom you didn't tell me this." Sky said with a stern face. "I know but I didn't want to worry the girls…" Bloom said as she quickly glanced at Cari for a split second, but turned to look at her parents. "Anyway where is Daphne I need her help before I head out." "She's been researching in the archives with Thoren since you guys left." Oritel said as he turned to lead the way to where Daphne was, while Tecna excused herself and went to look at her program.

When they arrived they saw that Daphne was intently reading a book and Thoren putting some books back on the shelves.

"Hey Daphne!" Cari said as she saw the crown princess. Daphne looked up and smiled brightly when she saw everyone walking towards her. "Bloom! Cari! Sky! Your back!" She got up and gave them a hug. "How was it? Did you get the gem?" "Of course all thanks to Stella." Bloom said with a look that said 'It's a long story' when her sister looked like she wanted to question how the blonde fairy passed the Stormryder test. "I'll tell you later, but Daphne I'm back because I had a dream where my sacred partner told me that I needed to find him immediately. But before I begin my search in the sacred forest I need the locket that Jeanne gave her husband. He said that I should ask you for its location…"

"Well, I'm not exactly sure where it is Bloom. According to my research I was supposed to inherit the locket when I became the Crown Princess of Domino. From what I can figure is that Mom was the last one to be in possession of it." Daphne asked when everyone turned to look at their parents. "Mom, do you know wh-" They froze when they saw that their parents were not paying attention. Instead they were paying attention to each other.

"Marion this dim lighting makes you glow. It reminds me of how much you will always be my light in darkness, my beautiful Queen." "O Oritel. You are such a romantic. I love you so." They slowly leaned in for a kiss. They were interrupted when they heard the giggling of a young girl. "Bloom your parents are sooo romantic!" "Yea…sure, sweetie." Bloom said as she wasn't sure what else to say to those corny lines.

"O excuse us, dear. Did you say something?" "Umm… yea mom. We wanted to know if you knew what happened to our family's heirloom, Jeanne's locket." Daphne asked as she showed her mom a picture of the locket. "Oo yes, I know where it is. I've been meaning to give it to you for some time now." "Oh I thought it was lost since I didn't inherit it at the crowing ceremony." "Oh no it wasn't lost. Before we faced the Ancestral witches for the last time I decided to hide the locket. Because it is said that it still holds powerful magic, I couldn't let those witches get a hold of it, and they were right. That locket kept your father's library, where he kept the Book of Fate, protected. Even after the whole planet froze over." "Is that where you kept the locket?" "Yes, but once we were freed from Obsidian I moved it to the vault in the Sacred Forest for safe keeping. Then I kinda forgot about it." Marion said as she giggled in embarrassment.

"well at least we know where the locket is. I guess I will start to head over there right after I check on Tecna." "We will go with you my dear." "You don't need to Mom. I'm sure you guys are busy." "Well, work can wait. But what I mean is that we need to go with you. I placed a special seal on the locket where only your father and I can break." "Don't forget my Queen we have a lunch meeting that we cannot miss today." "O you are right Oritel. Can we go after lunch Bloom?"

"Of course, Mom. Then let's meet up after lunch that will give me enough time to see how Tecna is doing." "Perfect. Now please excuse us we must prepare for our guests." Everyone nodded and said their goodbyes to the King and Queen. "What are you going to do now, Daphne?" "We will just finish up here and meet you guys for lunch later?" "Ok sounds good see you guys later."

After that Bloom, Sky and Cari left the archives. As they were walking down a hall they were suddenly stopped by a small voice. "Hey Cari!" "Rosie!" The three turned to see a pretty young 5 year old girl, with very light brown wavey hair pulled up in a half ponytail with pink roses braided into her hair walking towards them. She wore a simple dress with an apron on top. Once she stood right in front of them she lightly gasped when she noticed who she was in front of. She immediately curtsied "Oh Good Morning Princess Bloom, Prince Sky." "Why hello there and who might you be?" Bloom asked with a gentle smile. "My name is Rosina. My mother is one of the head gardeners here, she's mainly in charge of the maze and the roses."

"Oo Rosie you don't need to be so formal. Not with Bloom and Sky." Cari said as she walked to the girl and grabbed her hands to make her look up. The young girl blushed when she made eye contact with Bloom. "B-but Cari they're royalty. Of course I need to address them as such." Bloom knelt down to be eye level with the girls. "Cari is right Rosina, you can just call me Bloom. I'm not much of a fan of the whole royal name. Can I call you Rosie?" the pretty girl nodded with a shy smile. Bloom smiled "Are you Cari's friend?" "Yup we met when I stayed with Daphne last time. So we became best friends, right Rosie?" "Right Cari!" "That's awesome. Thank you for being friends and taking care of this little trouble maker." Bloom said as she winked at her little charge. "I don't get into trouble." "Yea but you get yourself into troublesome situations." Sky commented with a smirk "Hmph." Cari said with a pout.

"Now why don't you two go play and we'll see you for lunch. Ok? We have to go talk to Tecna so it will be boring anyway." "Ok Bloom! Let's go Rosie." She nodded and curtsied once more before running off with Cari. Bloom and Sky waved after them before turning to walk down to Tecna's room. "Let's hurry Sky. I think Tecna found something important."

* * *

"This is impossible… It is just not possible. No matter what I do the results are the same. I don't know how to tell this to Bloom…" "Tell me what?" Tecna gasped as she spun around to see Bloom and Sky entering her room. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you Tecna. I knocked but when you didn't answer I thought you were just too focused to notice, so I opened the door." "Oh no it's ok. I was focused on something. Did you manage to find Daphne and the locket?" "Yup it turns out my Mom knew where it was the whole time. Seems that she locked it away in the Vault in the Sacred Forest." "Well that was easy. I'm surprised that you are not going to pick it up. Wasn't it important to find your sacred partner as soon as possible?" "Yea, we would go get it now but my parents put a seal on the locket where only they can unseal. They have a meeting soon that they can't miss so we will go after lunch." "That's good."

"Yea, so what was it that you needed to tell me? Did you find Cari's biological family? Do they live here on Domino? Where are they?" 'Well here goes nothing… Sigh…' "I was able to match the DNA sample that was taken from Cari, and I was able to find a match. According to my DNA program… Cari's family is currently on Domino…"

* * *

"Wow Rosie! Your garden is beautiful! You are so gifted with plants almost as much as Flora!" Cari praised as she sniffed the beautiful hybrid Orange, Red, and yellow roses that Rosie created. "You really think so Cari? Flora is my idol! She is practically the only fairy that is in perfect harmony with Nature. I dream to be a fairy just like her when I grow up." Rosie said as she spun around once in joy. "I'm sure you would be able to be just as good as Flora. Maybe she can even give you some pointers the next time she comes over. If you like I can introduce her to you." "Oh my gosh really? You don't have to." "I know I don't have to but Flora is a friend and so are you I'm sure she won't mind. Besides she loves young fairies that love nature and want to learn more." "Oo that would be so amazing to be taught by Flora. I wonder what she would think of my roses."

Cari was memorized at how much love was in Rosie's eyes when she looked at her beautiful roses. After a moment Rosie noticed that her friend was just smiling happily while staring at her. "Why are you just staring at me Cari? Is there something on my face?" "O sorry. Every time I see someone around me genuinely showing love to someone or something I can't help but stare. I don't know why, but it makes me feel all warm and happy inside, it's like it recharges me or something. I know I'm weird." "No it's not weird, Cari. It's actually really sweet, it just means that you love, love."

"Thanks Rosie." Cari said with a bright smile before turning to look at the roses once more. "You know these roses look like they are glowing in a soft flame, when the sun hits them." "You really think so?! That was exactly the image I was going for! I created these with the Dragon Flame's warm protective fire in mind. We wouldn't be happy and free without the Princess' flames." Cari looked at her friend with a solemn stare. "Was it really scary when you were imprisoned in that frozen place?" Rosie just shrugged "I was pretty young so I don't really remember much but I do remember feeling cold, scared and alone. Feeling hopelessness until one day I felt a warm glow and a bright light leading me out of the darkness. Next thing I knew, I was back home in my parent's arms, and them telling me we were free, that the princesses freed us."

"You know, I think Bloom would really love to see these roses that you made out of love. Is it ok if I can bring her some now?" "Of course you can." Rosie pulled out a pair of small gardener scissors from her apron pocket and clipped some long stem roses. "Here you go." "Thanks! Come on lets go I know where Bloom is now." "Ok let's go."

The two young girls skipped down the hall with glee as they made their way down to Tecna's room. When they arrived to her room the girls noticed that the door was slightly opened enough to peek into the room. Cari saw that Bloom and Sky were sitting on the couch while talking to Tecna, who was standing by her equipment. Cari was about to knock when she heard what they were talking about.

"Did you find Cari's biological family? Do they live here on Domino? Where are they?" "I was able to match the DNA sample that was taken from Cari, and I was able to find a match. According to my DNA program… Cari's family is currently on Domino…" Bloom squeezed Sky's hand in anticipation. "Perfect. Who are they?" "Umm… they are actually… you guys…" the couple froze at Tecna's words, as she turned around and projected her results for them to see. "Wait What?!" They both exclaimed when Tecna turned to face them again. "Cari is a biological match to you two, Bloom and Sky." "No there is something wrong with your findings Tecna. That is impossible." Sky told the fairy of technology

"I know technically the probability of this is zero, but those are the results. I cannot deny the results from a direct DNA match, this science cannot be proven false." Tecna said as she pointed to the projection behind her. There the couple saw Cari's hair sample and their hair sample and the DND sequences underneath each appropriate picture. There they saw that the computer was showing them how Bloom and Sky's sequences matched up with Cari, showing that they are the child's biological parents.

"Tecna how is this possible? Can magic do this?" Sky asked as he wrapped his arms around Bloom's frozen shoulders. "It is not possible for magic to do this. Cloning is impossible for both modern science and magic…at least not yet." No one knew what to say at that point. "Well, at least you were able to keep your promise Bloom. You found her family…" Tecna said in attempts to get a reaction from her friend.

Cari was so happy about these news. She wanted to jump for joy and run out and call Bloom 'mom'. 'I had found my family the whole time… I belong here with Bloom and Sky… we will be a happy family… I will be loved…' But the small girl's heart dropped when she saw Bloom's reaction.

"NO! This can't be right! I can't be her mother!" "Bloom I ran the tests multiple times, the results are 100% correct." Bloom just shook her head. "Tecna look for available foster families in the area. Don't notify them or anything I just want to see the list and make a decision from there." Bloom said quietly and detached "But Bloom…" Sky started, but Bloom just stood up and left the room.

Cari turned around, grabbed Rosie's hand and pulled her behind a pillar a few feet from Tecna's room. They peeked from behind the pillar and saw Bloom walking down the hall away from Tecna's room with Sky chasing after her.

After a moment of awkward silence Rosie placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder in comfort "Cari…" the red haired young girl turned and started crying in her friend's arms, while she was comfortably patted on the back. "Rosie… Bloom doesn't w-want me… I wished she would be my m-mother… but she didn't want that… I thought she loved me… like I love her… but she is going to send me away…"

"I don't think Princess Bloom is going to send you away Cari, even I see how much she cares for you. It's just a misunderstanding." Rosie said wishing what she was saying was true. Cari just shook her head against her friend's chest. "You heard her Rosie. She was upset that I'm her daughter, she even told Tecna to find a foster home. Why would she need to find one if she didn't want to send me away." Hurt and sadden eyes spilling with tears looked up at Rosie. Rosie just stood there tears filling her eyes as she saw how distraught her friend was, not knowing what to say.

"Rosie, if my real parents don't want me…if they don't love me… then who does? where do I belong?"


	36. Chapter 35: Unsaid Feelings

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_This is the fastest I have posted a chapter… pretty exciting lol _

_Anywayl, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 35  
****Unsaid Feelings**

"Bloom… will you tell me what is going on?" Sky asked when they entered Bloom's room and sat down on her bed. When Bloom didn't say anything Sky continued to talk. "I know that you are actually happy with the DNA results. I know that you love Cari, just as much as I do. What I don't know is why you aren't showing your happiness. Why you are thinking of sending her to a foster home." After a moment of no response he asked again."So will you tell me why?" Sky said as he cupped Bloom's face and turned her head to look at him. "Now why are you starting crying, my love?"

With some tears in her eyes Bloom confessed to her fiancé her true feelings "Because you're right Sky. I am so happy that Cari is ours. I don't know what miracle occurred to make this happen, but I am so thankful that it did. We haven't know her for very long, but I love her so much already and I don't want to lose her. But…" Bloom turned her head away "But…?" 'Sigh' "But I don't know if I'm going to live long enough to be there for her." "Bloom not this again…" Sky reached over and grabbed her hand."You will defeat Eldus, you will survive, and you will come back to me. You understand?"

"No, you don't understand Sky!" the fairy exclaimed as she took her hands away from Sky and stood up to face him."There is a very high chance that I will NOT survive this battle, no matter how hard I train! There is a high chance that we will NOT get married, grow old together or get our happily ever after! And I don't want to get Cari's hopes up in having a happy family just for them to be snatched away! She deserves so much better than that. She deserves guaranteed happiness for the rest of her life, not a few days then sadness over the loss of her mother. I-I can't do that to her… I rather her think someone else is her mother… that way the pain of my death won't be as hard…" Bloom said as she sat back down and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Bloom I can see how much you care for Cari and how much she cares for you. But don't you think it will hurt her more that you intend to keep the truth from her? Don't you think she will hurt more thinking that you don't want her? Remember when you found out about your biological family?" Bloom nodded "You were sad that your parents weren't around and your sister cursed, but you knew that they did their best to stay with you… to give you a happy upbringing. Your sister was technically cursed to death to protect you from the Ancestral Witches. It hurt when you found out, but it helped knowing that you were loved. That your mother, father, sister all fought for your safety and happiness… just like you are going to do for us … for Cari… right?" he waited for her to nod before continuing."So don't you think it will be better to let Cari know that we are a family? That we love her with all of our being? That we are fighting for us to be together."

At that Bloom's tears started to flow out. She turned to Sky and started to cry in his loving arms. "Your right Sky… Even if I don't make it… I know I will regret knowing… that Cari would never…never know the truth… I want us to be a happy family… for as long as we can." Bloom confessed in between sobs. "We will, Bloom. We will be a happy family forever and even longer than that. Just believe in that, ok?" Bloom looked up doubtful but was filled with some hope when she saw Sky's determined eyes. "Ok Sky. Let's tell Cari at lunch before we leave." Bloom said as she wiped away some tears. "Sounds like a plan my love. I wonder how she will react." "I bet she will be as happy as I am." Bloom said with happiness sparkling in her eyes, the same eyes that were reflected in Sky's.

"Well it's almost time for lunch shall we head to the dining hall?" "Yes, let's go see our little Cari."

* * *

"Are feeling better Cari?" The young light brown haired girl asked her hurting friend. "No… but the tears have run out… What should I do Rosie? Where should I go? Where do I belong?" "Why don't you start by going to Lunch. If you don't hurry you will be late, isn't Princess Bloom expecting you?" Cari shook her head as she pulled her knees up to her face. "I'm not very hungry and I don't think Bloom will want to see me anyway." "I think it will be a good chance for you to tell her what you really feel." "And what good will that do, Rosie? Just for me to get rejected? …for me to speed up the time in which I will be sent away?" Cari looked up when she felt Rosie's comforting hand on her shoulder. "You will know the truth. I don't believe what Princess Bloom said in that room is really how she felt. I think she was hiding her true feelings." Cari knew that her friend truly believed that. She saw how sure Rosie was of herself and the faith she had in her princess. "Ok, Rosie. Let's go to Lunch and tell Bloom how much I want her to be my mother." Rosie smiled brightly as she stood up. She then held out her hands to help Cari on her feet. Once up, they walked together holding hands as they headed to the dining room.

The closer they to the dining room, the more nervous Cari became. "I'm still unsure about this Rosie." "It's ok Cari I'm here with you." Cari nodded. Just as they were able to see the room they froze when they saw Tecna walking down the hall from the opposite side, while she was focused on her PDA. Subconsciously, Cari pulled Rosie to hide behind a column.

"Why are we hiding?" "Sorry I didn't mean to, my body just moved on its own." "It's ok, Come on." Rosie said as she started to get up from their crouched position. Suddenly they heard Bloom call out to the short haired fairy. "Hey Tecna!" "O hey Bloom, Sky." "Hello Tecna. What has you so focused?" Sky asked the fairy of technology. "O I was just finishing compiling the information for the orphanage that you wanted Bloom." "That was fast." "I knew how important that is to you. I'll email it to you now." "Thank you, Tecna." Bloom said as Sky opened the dining room door. "You're welcome." "And Tecna about that foster home list…" Bloom started as they entered the room and closed the door behind them.

Rosie turned to see Cari starting to cry again "Looks like I'm going to be sent to an orphanage instead…" "You don't know that, Cari." The light brown haired girl said as she reached out and hugged her friend. "Come on, let's go talk to them." Cari just shook her head. "No I can't, not yet. I need a little more time, just a bit more. Like maybe for dinner." "But they are expecting you now." "Please Rosie I-I can't face them right now…" Rosie looked with compassion at her friend that was so nervous that she was shaking. "Ok Cari. I will take care of this. Wait here." "Wait, how are you going get me out of this?"

Rosie just smiled, gently patted Cari on the head, got up and walked to the dining room door and knocked three times. The door opened and she walked in.

* * *

Bloom and Tecna entered the room as Sky opened the door for them and closed it once they entered. "And Tecna about that foster home list…" "Yes, I will have that ready by the end of the day. There are many candidates but I know you want only the best." "Thank you Tenca, I know you are doing me this favor, but can you forget about it?" The fairy of technology looked at her leader with confusion "Are you sure? You were very adamant about having that list just a little while ago." "I know I freaked out when you told me that Cari is my biological child, but I was scared… with Eldus on the loose I was scared that he would come after her and she is too young to be involved in this fight. I didn't want her to get hurt because of me. But we talked it out…" Bloom said as she grabbed her fiancé's hand "…and we are going to face our fears and tell Cari the truth about her family. We are going to fight for our family." Tecna smiled "Very well Bloom considered it forgotten. Now where is your daughter anyway?"

"Bloom… what are you guys talking about? What did she mean by 'your daughter'?" Daphne asked, who was silently sitting at the table by her husband. "O well Daphne it turns out I don't need to search for Cari's family anymore. According to Tecna's DNA test I am Cari's biological mother and Sky her father. So congrats, you're an Aunt!" the crown princess just froze at what she just heard. Then slowly a huge smile grew on her face.

"No wonder I thought she looked familiar, she looks just like the both of with the spunk and skill to match. But how did this happen?" "We aren't exactly sure but all that matters is that we will love her forever. I can't wait to tell her, she should be here any minute now." Just then they heard a knock on the door and all turned, expecting to see little Cari when a maid opened to door.

They were surprised when they did not see Cari walk in, but Rosieinstead. As soon as the door closed behind her, the young girl curtsied "I pardon the interruption, your highnesses, but I bring a message." "Hello Rosie, I told you that you don't need to be so formal. A friend of Cari's is a friend of ours." Bloom said with a sweet smile. "Yes, apologies Princess Bloom, but I have a message from Cari." "Where is my sweet little Cari?" "It seems that she got tired out while we were playing in the garden. I didn't want to wake her, but I knew that you were expecting her. So I came to let you know, I do hope that you will forgive her for missing lunch." "Hmm… she must've exhausted herself too much during the training at Alfea, and it caught up with her." Bloom gave Rosie a sweet smile and a gentle pat on the head. "You are a very good friend to Cari. Thank you for not waking her up. When she wakes up make sure that you both get something good to eat in the kitchen ok? And I do hope you two stay good friends for a long time." "Yes, Princess Bloom. Cari is my best friend and I hope she will stay around forever." "Of course she will. Now run along, Cari might wake up and wonder where you are. Can you tell her, if she wakes up in time, to come see me before I have to leave, please? I have something important to tell her." Rosie nodded and curtsied before saying her goodbyes. "Of course I can. Now please excuse me, your highnesses." Rosie turned and left the room.

"Aww I really wanted to tell her. I just hope I can see her before we have to leave for the sacred forest." Bloom said to Sky as they sat down at the table and ate their lunch, hoping to see Cari soon.

* * *

Cari waited anxiously for her friend to come out. 'What is taking so long?' just then she heard the door open and looked to see Rosie walk out and over to her. "Well, how did it go?" "Fine. I told them that you fell asleep while playing so you were going to miss Lunch." "Great, that made me sound like a baby… But at least they bought it." Cari said as she gave her friend a hug. "Oo but Princess Bloom said that she wanted to see you before she left today." Cari stayed silent at that request. "I almost forgot that she was leaving to train after lunch… Maybe I should wait until after she comes back to talk to her. I don't want to be sent away just yet." "But she didn't seem that she wanted to send you away. She seemed happy and eager to see you." "Rosie she's not going to show a kid what she is really thinking. She's a princess she needs to know how to hide her feelings. Especially if she is such a skilled fighter, she needs to have a good poker face in order to win, at least that's what Riven told me about fighting." Cari said with a solemn face.

"Ok then if you are going to avoid her until she leaves, what do you want to do? We can't really wander around, the guards might notice and tell her." "Hmm… well since it's so nice let's just play in your garden or the greenhouse. I love to see the different flowers and help in keeping them happy." Rosie's eyes lit up at the thought of playing with the flowers. "Ok let's go!" The two girls ran down the hall and out to the gardens.

* * *

"Are you ready Bloom?" Marion asked her daughter as they prepared to head to the Sacred Forest from the great room. "Yea, Mom…but I'm just waiting for Cari. I wanted to talk to her before I left. I don't know how long I'll be gone… I really wanted to see her." "I know you do my dear, but we really must get going. Your father and I must return soon." 'Sigh' "Your right… we should get going. With that Bloom turned to the end of the room and opened up a portal to the edge of the sacred forest.

"You ok Bloom?" Sky asked his fiancé when he saw how hesitant she was to go through the portal. "Yea, I just wanted to tell Cari the big news. But I guess she's still sleeping or lost track of time." "I know my love. But we can tell her when we get back and then we can properly celebrate with the whole magical universe knowing she's part of our royal family." Bloom looked up and smiled at her beloved. "That sounds amazing."

"Shall we Bloom?" Oritel asked as he took his wife's hand and guided her through the portal. "Coming!" Bloom said as she turned to face her sister and friend. "I will be back, hopefully, soon guys." "Best wishes Bloom. And don't forget to think logically during your search." Tecna said. "Do be careful Bloom." Daphne added as she gave her sister a hug. "I will don't worry. But please look after my little Cari while I'm gone. Make sure she eats all her food and gets plenty of rest, and not too much desert after dinner its bad for her, and she likes to play with the bubbles in the bath, and-" "And I think what Bloom is trying to say: is that we are sure that you guys will take good care of our child, right Bloom?" Bloom blushed when she realized that she was rambling. "Yup that's exactly what I meant. You know me so well my love." Bloom said with a smile. "Well we better be off." Sky said as she took Bloom's hand and lead her through the portal.

As soon as they made it through they saw the King and Queen waiting patiently for them. Bloom closed the portal and the four of them started their walk to the vault. When they arrived at the doors the Oritel and Marion showed their magical royal seals to enter without the vault's guardians fighting them.

"So mom where did you hide the locket?" Bloom asked once they were almost to the vault's second door that lead to all the jewels and treasures."Well, my dear, after years of fighting and trying to deceive evil we found a simple way and best way to hide something…right my love?" "You are right my beautiful Queen. No ever expects something important to be hidden in plain sight." The king said with a wink as he waved at the vault's second door. Bloom and Sky looked at the simple wooden door with the elegant flame and vine engravings leading up to the brilliant red dragon engraving above the middle of the door frame. When they looked down to see how they were going to open the door they saw the simple door handle was encircled by a slightly faded silver chain engraving that lead to a small silver heart lock. The door knob and lock had no appeal compared to elegant engravings around it.

"So is the locket in the dragon engraving up there? Or is it inside?" Bloom asked as she was mesmerized by the dragon engraving above them. The King and Queen giggled. "No my dear we don't need to unlock the door, and the dragon does not have the locket." "Then where is it?" Sky asked as he looked carefully at the door in front of them. "You will see. Ready Oritel?" "Ready my Queen." They stepped forward and began to prepare.

King Oritel took out his sword and Queen Marion started to charge up her spell. Once Marion's spell changed from red to a dark blue, she threw her spell to her King's sword. His sword was then surrounded by a dark blue fire that shined brightly. Marion reached over and placed a hand on the hilt of the sword, together the King and Queen pulled sword back and then quickly lunged it forward halfway into the lock. "Seal, Unlock!" They turned the sword slightly left, then they slowly pulled back while the dark blue fire stayed within the lock. Once the sword was fully out, the lock freed itself from the door and then a light suddenly burst from it, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

Once the light was gone, all that was left was a floating beautiful silver heart shaped locket with gold floral engravings, with a small red dragon hiding among them, hanging on a thin but sturdy silver chain. "Wow, this is Jeanne's locket?" Marion reached up and the locket slowly landed in her hand. "Yes, Bloom. This is our family heirloom, the locket that has been passed down and protected generation after generation. It was tradition to be inherited by the crown princess, but with circumstances being what they are… it belongs to you now Bloom." Bloom held out her hand as her mother gingerly gave her the locket. She and Sky took a moment to admire and stare at the locket that was so old but looked new. "Thanks Mom, Dad. Now we are a step closer to finding my sacred partner."

* * *

"Are you sure you know where you are going Bloom?" Sky asked as they walked through the dense Sacred Forest. "Well kinda. Right now I figured we should just head towards the center of the forest... until my 'internal navigation' kicks in.""I can see why your parents were concerned when we left them." Sky mumbled when he recalled when they went their separate ways.

*Flashback*

Once they had received the locket and exited the vault, Bloom opened the portal back to Domino Castle for her parents. "Do be careful dear. The forest gets very thick and easy to lose your bearings if you don't pay attention." "Don't worry mom, my flame is supposed to guide us there, it'll be alright." "Ok if you are sure." The Queen said"Take care of my daughter Sky, ok?" "With my life, your majesty." Sky said with a slight bow to Bloom's father. "Alright we will see you when you return, take care." Oritel said as he walked through the portal with his wife "Bye Mom. Bye Dad."

Once they were through Sky asked: "So which way?" "Hmm… I'm not exactly sure…" Bloom looked around uncertain in which direction to go. So she decided to close her eyes and point "Let's go… that way!" "Umm… is your flame guide telling you to go that way?" Sky asked with slight concern "Well, it hasn't kicked in yet, but it should soon enough. Besides the deeper we get into the forest the better right?" Bloom said confidently as she started walking in the direction she pointed to. Sky sighed heavily, unsure about Bloom's logic, but followed his fiancé anyway while thinking: 'We are going to get lost…'

*End of Flashback*

"Well, we've been walking for a few hours shall we take a break?" Sky asked. "Yea, sounds good Sky." The couple rested beside a small stream. Sky went a little farther down the stream to a larger pool to collect more water. While Sky was away Bloom sat on a large rock and leaned back to gaze at some clouds that she could barely see through the tree's branches, thinking about how she was supposed to get her 'flame to guide her'. 'I wish my sacred partner would have told me the instructions on how to use my flame to find him…' while thinking she took off the locket that she had around her neck, and held it up to see. 'Can't you help me Jeanne? The faster I start my training the faster I can get rid of Eldus, and protect our family...'

Suddenly the locket started to glow softly and started to levitate on its own. But when it started to fall Bloom wondered if it was just low on power. 'I wonder what will happen if I add my power to it…' Bloom transferred some of her magic to the locket that fell back into her hand and the glow became slowly stronger. Then unexpectedly, it started to slowly float into the forest. 'O my gosh I think I just turned on our guide!' Bloom immediately jumped off her rock and ran down the stream to her fiancé. "Sky!" He immediately dropped the canister he was closing after he filled it up with water and grabbed his sword to get on the defensive, preparing for an attack. "Sorry for startling you but I think I got the guiding flame to work! And it's already floating away. We need to go after it!" "Ok let's go!" Sky replied as he sheathed his sword to his hip once more and bent down to pick up the dropped water canister. In a matter of seconds they caught up with the glowing locket.

The locket noticed that the couple was close behind, so it picked up its pace and continued down a windy path. It lead them deeper into the forest, but not exactly towards the center, more to the east. After a long time of following the locket, it suddenly stopped. Breathing heavily the couple took a short break as they looked around. "Why did it stop?" Sky asked as they saw a tiny clearing in front of a steep cliff surrounded by shrubbery and long hanging vines. "I have no idea, I don't see anything…" Bloom responded as she looked around the empty, small clearing.

Once they caught their breath the locket slowly started to move forward to stop right before a section of hanging vines. Bloom and Sky walked over to be right in front of the locket. Once in arm's length the locket slowly floated down and into Bloom's outreached hand. "So it looks like my 'flame guide' led us to a dead end…" Bloom said as she stared at the vined wall. "Wait… do you feel that?" Sky asked. Bloom paused and closed her eyes, after a short moment she opened her eyes and stepped closer to the wall.

"It feels like a breeze is coming from behind the vines…" once right in front of the vines the fairy reached out and expected to touch cliff's solid face, but instead her hand went right through the vines. "Sky, there is a hidden cave behind here…" Bloom said as she gently pushed through the vines and entered a dark cave with Sky right behind her. Seeing how dark it was Bloom sparked a flame in her hand to give them some light. "Be careful Bloom we don't know if a wild animal might be lurking in here." Bloom nodded as she led the way forward. After a few minutes of walking they saw a light in the distance. It got brighter the more they walked towards it until they went through it.

It took their eyes a moment to adjust from the pitch darkness to the bright light and they were amazed at what they saw. Before them they saw, a beautiful large cascading waterfall with high cliffs around it, closing the environment in. It was pooling into a large beautiful and clear pool at the base, that spread out to smaller little falls as the water flowed down a connecting river that lead to an underground cavern. There was a variety of trees and flowersin the medium-sized clearing looking absolutely breathtaking. Even though it felt that the cave they entered fromlead them deeper underground, you could see the sky very clearly, and right above them was the bright clear sky. That was where the bright light was coming from.

"I think we just found the place where the sacred guardian lives." Bloom said as she gazed at the scene around her. "In my dream, he showed me this exact place. This must be where he lives."

"Well done in locating my humble abode, guardian of the Sacred Dragon Flame."

* * *

"Eldus what is going on? You have been looking at the Winx and Cloud Tower with your crystal ball thing all day long. The only break you've taken is to do a few hours of research." Darcy asked the ancient sorcerer while looking through a book. "And what's weirder is that you keep turning it on and off randomly, like you're resetting a computer." Stormy added while she threw her book away. "Tell us what you are planning Eldus, we are partners after all. Did you find the Gem for Stormy?" Icy asked.

"Oh no, I'm looking for something even better! But I am trying to locate where it is." Eldus said as he looked carefully at the Cloud Tower witches activities. "What are you looking for? We might be able to help." Eldus paused to look at the Trix and pondered their words. "Hmm… perhaps you are right… very well, I am looking for all the magical beings that possess the Dragon Flame, but it only keeps showing me the annoying Winx for some reason. There should only be one wielder of that power per every other generation, which was Bloom, but I think there might be another. A young spark. I thought maybe it was hiding at Cloud Tower but it is hard to see through the school's barrier."

"Well as for the Winx appearing: it is because that goodie-two-shoes Bloom shared her dragon flame with her _precious_ friends when they lost their powers during one of our fights. So it's no surprise that technically they are wielders of the Dragon Flame, albeit just a spark of it." Icy told Eldus. "Don't forget that Bloom's sister, Daphne, and mother are said to wield the Dragon Flame as well." Darcy added. "Hmm… interesting… so they would be on Domino correct?" "Yup that's the place." Stormy said with a bored tone.

Eldus turned and casted the spell to have the crystal eye look at Domino's wielders of the Dragon Flame. It first showed Queen Marion with the King in a meeting, then it changed to show Daphne walking with Thoren, then Tecna working on something in her room, finally it showed a couple of young girls watering some flowers in the garden. "Found it! … Found _HER_! Perfect!" Eldus said with glee. He turned to face the Trix with a genuine happy smile. "Thanks for your help ladies. We now have the next step in our plan. We are to head to Domino… immediately!"


	37. Chapter 36: Kidnapped

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Thank you sooo much for all your support. You have no idea how much that means to me and helping me write faster. XD_

_Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 36  
****Kidnapped**

"Well done in locating my humble abode, guardian of the Sacred Dragon Flame."

The couple were surprised when they saw a figure in the shadow of the waterfall appear and slowly walk out into the sunlight. Bloom gasped slightly when she clearly saw the man that she talked to when she got her powers back, her sacred partner, and he looked exactly like he did in her dream. He was a tall gorgeous man with long waist length blue and white hair, wearing long elegant blue and gold robes with a gold outlined red dragon flying up from the bottom of the robe holding the Domino royal crest protectively in its front claws. Around his waist was a red sash with detailed embroidery of elegant blue and white flames. This tall man's hands had shinning blue scales going up his arms and even some scales on the sides of his neck. He had deep cat like ruby eyes, which were shinning with wisdom, compassion and pride. He still looked like a god.

"I thought that you would take longer to arrive, since you were so unsure about yourself." Bloom shook herself out of her trance. "I know that I am sure that I need to train in order to defeat Eldus." "Hmm… we will see about that. And what about you, Crown Prince of Eraklyon? What brings you here? Are you here to be a hindrance?" Sky did not take the dragon's words kindly "I am here to support Bloom in any way she needs. I won't be a hindrance." He remarked as he took Bloom's hand in his "Hmm…"

The humanoid dragon just turned and started to walk to the far end of the clearing. He turned when he noticed the couple not moving. "Well, are you coming? I thought you were here to train." He continued to walk and was swallowed by the darkness of another cave. Bloom and Sky nodded to each other and ran after the dragon.

They slowly followed him for a couple of minutes until they stepped through a very powerful barrier. Once through they entered an extremely large cavern. It had a very high ceiling and soft sand, giant rocks were scattered everywhere, it seemed that there was some sort of light magically being used to make the cavern so bright. In the far corner sat a perfect oasis with a small cabin sitting by the oasis' lake. The cavern looked like a desert but it was a nice cool area, not too hot and not too cold.

"So where are we now?" "This is my personal training room, but I recently did some improvements." "What improvements? It just looks like a boring old desert." Sky asked as he looked around. "Well to the _untrained non-magical_ eye it seems like nothing." The dragon said coldly "But I'm sure my guardian noticed when you entered the room, did you not?" "Well, I'm not sure. I know we passed a barrier but it felt much different than a defensive barrier and much more powerful." "Correct, the barrier I placed around this place is not like the norm. It is actually charmed with a powerful spell to distort the time flow here." "What do you mean?" "Time flows differently here. One day spent in here will actually be one minute outside. I saw that time was of the essence and you needed more than a few hours of training to even have a chance to face Eldus on even grounds. This way you will have 12 months of training in only 6 hours. So shall we begin?"

"Yes, let's." Bloom nodded and started taking off the small pack that she was carrying. "Here I will take that Bloom." "Thank you, Sky. Hey, what are you going to do while we train?" Bloom said with a curious smile as she handed her pack to him. "I will do some training of my own." Sky said with a smile.

"Oo that's right you brought your Prince." The Dragon said in a bored tone. Bloom slightly glared at him for making such a rude remark towards her beloved. The dragon rolled his eyes when he saw his guardian glare at him. 'Sigh' "Do you truly trust this man? Would you trust him with your life? Would he protect you at the cost of his?" he coldly stared deep into Bloom's flaming eyes. She knew that he would notice if she had doubts, good thing she had no hesitation in her words. "Yes, I trust Sky with my life. He would protect me with his life, just like I would for him. He is the man I love with all my being. He is the man I will marry and be happy with, for all eternity."

'Hmm… certain eyes… eyes filled with love… just like Jeanne's…' "Hmm… very well." He looked to Sky "How skilled are you boy?" "I am the best in my school, and home planet." "Of course you would be the best on your planet you are the Prince. Who would fight seriously against you? I wonder how skilled you truly are…" in that moment the dragon threw a large blast at Sky.

Sky immediately pulled out his sword and deflected the blast away from them and towards the empty desert. After the blast made contact with a rock it burst apart in a firey explosion. "Hey you were serious! You could've hurt me!" Sky said angered. "Of course not, if I was serious you would no longer be alive. I just needed to make sure your skills were deserving of my guardian's faith. I couldn't very much have her mated to someone useless, now could I?" He said with a shrug. "I would've stayed with Sky regardless of what you thought. He is my true love." Bloom said as she stood beside Sky daring the dragon to attack again. "Very well then, I guess I have no choice now."

He walked over to Sky and held out his hand and started to conjure up a summoning spell. Sky got on the defensive in case he was going to surprise attack again. But instead of an attack a magnificent sword slowly started appearing, hovering slightly transparent above the Dragon's hand. After a short moment a quick light, burst from the sword and it became solid as it landed in his hand. The sword had some engraving along the blade in an ancient language that Sky couldn't read, the hilt was simple enough with a golden dragon wrapped around it.

"I enchanted this sword long ago and I only lent it to one other…King Leonard, Jeanne's husband. Just like you, he stood firm against me and was sure of his love for my guardian. So as a reward I will give you something that will stand as firm as your will. Be warned: This sword cannot be held by anyone else besides you, unless I wish it or you give it a verbal code. If evil is freely able to use it then it will be catastrophic." He held out the sword for Sky to take. Sky put away his sword and reached out to accept the dragon's sword. As soon as he took it in his hands, he felt a strong bond immediately form, along with a power surge running up his arm and spreading throughout his body. "Thank you, I appreciate it." Sky said in awe as he grew accustomed to the sword.

The dragon just nodded "You may use that area to train, it has some targets you may practice on." He told the prince as he pointed to the opposite side of the nodded, said his goodbyes and good lucks to his fiancé and started to walk over to where he was told. The dragon faced Bloom once more "Now let's start guardian, we must being your training." Bloom nodded as she followed the dragon deeper into the cavern.

"Now before we being there is one thing we must do…" Bloom waited for him to continue. "…introductions. We cannot form our sacred bond until we know each other's names and our worries." "Oo that's true. Well then, shall I begin? … Hello, my name is Bloom. I am a princess of Domino, but I was raised on Earth by my adoptive parents…" She paused when he raised his hand for silence. "I already know all that I want to know about what you feel… your deepest thoughts, your worries." Bloom hesitated and glanced at Sky who was training in the distance before nodding. 'Sigh' "I want to protect my family and friends… I want to get married to Sky and live happily ever after with him… and our daughter Cari. We have no idea how she came to be but I already love her so much and I want us to be family. But my biggest worry is that I will end up like Jeanne after I face Eldus. I don't have the confidence in winning AND coming back alive, Jeanne couldn't do it… what hope do I have…I know I can't escape my fate but all I can do now is to destroy Eldus and protect my family and the magical dimension."

"Hmm… well I cannot tell you what the future holds young guardian but remember that the future is not set in stone, there are still many possible outcomes. But I can tell you two things for certain: one, you are not ready to face Eldus yet. If you were to face him at your current state you would most likely fall and fail your ultimate mission. But with this training and my partnership it is very possible to succeed… second, I was the one who gave Calida Cari her current form." "Wait, what?!" Bloom exclaimed in total shock. "How?! If you created her then how is she my biological child?"

"I did not say I created her, I said I gave her, her current form. She was created from the magic that you gave up when you were under Eldus' Keres curse and the pure energy that your fiancé used to save you. She was created with your magic and his will, along with the love you both shared for each other. Originally, I was going to absorb and use the orb when we face Eldus, but the love in the orb was so strong, among other things, I wondered what would happen if I did something unexpected for once. Since I created the magical universe it was easy enough for me to give the magical orb a body, free will included. The only thing I took control of was her memories, even as an orb she was still aware. I locked them away since it was too early for you to know what she really was. When I told her to go find you and give you the message I was unsure of the outcome, but it looks like it worked out nicely. I'm glad I made the correct choice." He said with a smug smirk.

Bloom was just too shocked to really say anything. 'Cari really is ours…' after a moment the red haired fairy saw that the dragon was waiting for a response, so she just took a deep breath "Yes, thank you. I am grateful that you made the decision to allow her into our lives. Thank you very much…umm…'sacred dragon'." "Oo that's right I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Glaedr, I am your Sacred Partner and together we will change the future." After a short pause Bloom asked: "Is that all? Aren't you going to tell me what you feel and worries?" "Hmm… Well, I wonder if your fate will be as Jeanne's because of your apparent similarities of stubbornness and overprotective personalities. And I worry that I will miss my routine hibernation cycle again." He said in a monotone as he shrugged 'It doesn't seem that he is very worried…' Bloom internally commented.

"umm… ok, I don't think I'm that stubborn but at least I know that you are worried about me. So thanks…" "you are almost the spitting image of your ancestor, including your personality, young Bloom." "So I hear… now what are we supposed to do Glaedr?" Suddenly they both started to softly glow and it started to connect to each other from the couple of feet they were from each other. Bloom was so surprised that she just stared at her glowing hands and the glowing ribbon connecting them until it just burst away. "Umm… what just happened?" She asked when he looked like he didn't see anything or just didn't care. "Nothing really we just made our partnership official. Now you may summon me as you see fit, as I you. But try not to summon me while I nap, understood?"

Bloom just nodded "But how do I summon you and you me?" "Just imagine me appearing before and focus your energy in reaching me, I believe a modern analogy would be making a so-called 'phone call'. Once you focus enough and begin to feel me, call out my name. I will come. As for me calling you, I will just transport you when I feel like it." "Wait what? You don't give me a warning or anything. That's a bit rude, don't you think? I might be in the middle of something." 'Sigh' he said as he rolled his eyes "Very well then I shall give you a two minute warning. That should be plenty of time to inform people or what-not." He said with a shrug. 'I think that is the best I am going to get… sigh.' "Thank you, much appreciated."

"hmm." He said with an indifferent shrug. "Now I shall attack you with 25% of my power, I suggest you prepare yourself." At that he sent a large fire blast at Bloom. "Wait WHAT?!" she yelled as she barely dodged the attack in time. She looked at where she was just standing and saw a small crater in the ground, and she was shocked to see that her clothes were slightly singed. "You-you attacked me seriously!" she exclaimed as she glared at Glaedr. "That is the point. Oo… You may attack me as you wish." He said as he held another firey ball in his right hand. "Wait, wait! what is the point of this?" She asked as she dodged another attack. "To test your reflexes and control of your powers without transforming." He replied as he crossed his arms as multiple dark red fire balls appeared and hovered around him. Bloom groaned as she prepared to protect herself from the oncoming barrage 'this is going to be a longgg day…'

* * *

"Why are we headed to Domino, again?" Stormy asked "I need to pick up a new ally." "Who?" Darcy asked "Her" Eldus said as he pointed at the image in his crystal ball. "How is a little brat going to help?" Icy coldly asked "She is going to make a huge difference in the outcome of the upcoming fight. She holds within her an incredible power that can rival Jeanne's. All I have to do is convince her that darkness is better than the light." He said with an evil grin. "Hmm… is that so? Then what is the plan?" Stormy asked "You three will need to distract the royal family while I go and talk to our new companion." "How are we supposed to do that? They would be more suspicious if we just showed up randomly and just started to shoot up the place." Darcy remarked. "You three will think of something. Now I just need to find the key in convincing her to come willingly." Eldus said as he stared at the two young girls in the enchanted crystal ball. That was when he heard exactly what he needed. He brightly smiled before turning to face the witches. "I got it. Ladies we are leaving now. To Domino!"

* * *

"Rosie, do you think it was wrong of me not to see Bloom off before she left? I know that she wants to send me away, but I miss her already." The red haired girl asked as she watered the roses. "Well, hopefully she will be back before you go to sleep. And I really don't think that she is going to send you away Cari. She obviously cares deeply for you. She might just be worried about something else." Rosie said as she watered her side of the roses. "Then why would Tecna give her an orphanage's name? I don't want to leave, Rosie. I don't want to be alone, I want to be happy with a family. I want to feel safe." Cari said as she wrapped her arms around herself in despair. Rosie put down her watering can and walked over to her friend and gave her a hug. "I know Cari. Its ok everything will work out in the end, you'll see."

Suddenly a huge gust of wind surprised the girls and forced them to close their eyes from the oncoming debris that was flying in the air. When they opened their eyes they saw a tall man dressed in all black with black cold eyes, staring down at them a few feet away. Too scared to move the two girls just stared as he took a couple of steps closer. "W-who are you?" Rosie asked as she motioned for her friend to hide behind her. "I am Eldus. The most powerful sorcerer in the magical dimension. And I would like to talk to the one who carries Bloom's dragon flame within her." He said with a small smile.

Rosie glared at the man 'he must be after Cari. He might be the one who injured the king and queen. If he captures Cari then Princess Bloom will not be able to fight to her fullest.' Rosie took a deep breath and took a step towards him. "What is it do you want from me?" Her voice was strong but her body shook with fear as she hoped that Cari would stay stunned just a little longer. "Oo you are the keeper of the royal family's dragon's flame? Then why is it that you wear an apron, I doubt one with such power and supposed rank would be put to work." He replied with a cold voice "Is it wrong for a young girl to play in the garden? I couldn't very much dirty my pretty dress now could I?" Rosie replied without a moment's hesitation. "Hmm… then you wouldn't mind stepping closer to have a better look at you my child." He said with an outstretched hand. Rosie hesitated for a moment but glanced down at her scared friend 'I must protect Cari…' she thought as she slowly stepped forward.

Once she was close enough Eldus lurched out and aggressively took a hold of Rosie's long light brown hair. "OW! LET GO!" the young girl screamed as he pulled her hair tighter. "If you are the one I am looking for then you should have no problem in defending yourself." Eldus smirked as he pulled her hair higher to where her feet no longer touched the ground. "OW! STOP! LET GO!"

That was when a blast appeared out of nowhere and made a direct hit to Eldus' chest. In surprise he let the girl go and held his chest in pain. He looked up to see Cari standing with rage burning in her eyes and her hair glowing as if on fire with purple ribbons dancing in the flames. "Leave Rosie ALONE! It is ME you want!" Cari yelled at Eldus. "Yes, you are." He said with a smirk, he looked down to see that Rosie was getting up. "Don't even think of touching her again!" he saw that she had another blast ready to be fired at him and he raised his arms as if he was innocent. "I wouldn't dream of it, my child. I just came here to talk to you. To give you a proposition." "What do you mean?" Cari asked with slight confusion after Rosie ran to hide behind her. "I want you to give you something you want… a place where you can belong. I want to give you a place where you can be safe and happy. A place alongside me."

He saw that he was getting to her, he saw her thinking about it. "How do you know what I want?" "Because I wanted it too, a long time ago. I wanted a place I could belong to. I just wanted to be happy with someone I loved, to have a family, to call someplace 'home'. But I was always pushed away, no one wanted me, I was always alone. And the one person I loved and thought I could count on, tossed me aside the first chance she could, she left me all alone and forgotten. I wasn't needed and misunderstood, so I was easily cast away and rejected. And I don't want you to go through the same pain I did." With his words Cari calmed down enough that Eldus felt safe enough to take a couple of steps forward. "You don't know that will happen to me. I will be needed, I won't be cast aside. Bloom won't let that happen…" Cari said with doubt in her eyes

"Are you sure about that, child? You may have great power within you, but you won't be needed to protect anyone. This planet already has the royal family to guard it and the universe has that group of fairies to watch over it. So where do you, a powerful and gifted being, belong in a world where all the needed positions are filled? Besides do you really think Bloom won't send you away as soon as she can? She _is_ a busy princess after all how do you think she will have time to even protect you when you need it the most? Where is she now?" Eldus grimly smiled when he saw that he had won.

Rosie saw that her friend was being swayed and stood to face her. "Cari he is wrong! Bloom loves you, you are her child! She wouldn't send you away I just know it!" Cari looked at her friend with conflict and doubt in her eyes. "But Rosie you heard her, she is already looking at an orphanage or foster home to send me to. I-I think I have a better chance with Eldus. He understands how I feel, maybe he is just as lonely as I am." "No Cari… I think he is the man who seriously hurt the King and Queen, he's dangerous." "Is that true? Did you hurt King Oritel and Queen Marion?" "I have never even heard those names before. How can I be blamed for this horrid crime if I don't know who those names belong to?" Eldus said with a nonchalant shrug.

"Now my child decide whether you want to come with me and be wanted, or stay and be sent to an orphanage to be alone." Eldus said as he held out his hand for Cari to accept. "No don't go Cari. I want you to stay, you are my best friend don't go, please." Rosie pleaded as she saw her friend thinking about accepting the man's offer. Cari slowly looked to her light brown haired friend. "You're my best friend too Rosie. But even if I stay Bloom will send me away and we might never see each other again. At least if I go with him, I won't be alone. I'm sorry, we might meet each other again someday." Cari said as she gave her best friend a final hug good bye. Then she pushed her away and ran to accept Eldus' hand.

Once Cari was in his arms, Rosie saw as he pulled her up off the ground and embraced her with an evil smile, he quickly opened up the portal and disappeared into the dark hole that faded away. Rosie stood there in shock at what had just happened. She then heard an explosion in the distance that shook the grounds. With that, Rosie was shaken back to the present and started to run towards the inner palace. 'I need to tell the King and Queen! They need to send word out to Bloom… they need to tell her that Cari has been kidnapped!'


	38. Chapter 37: Distraught Mother

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 37  
****Distraught Mother **

"What are the Trix doing here?" Daphne exclaimed as she flew down the castle halls beside Tenca, both in their fairy forms, with Thoren running close behind. "I don't know, my surveillance robots have been watching them since they have arrived. It is illogical for them to have returned to this planet and they have not stated the reason for their unwanted appearance. Right now the King and Queen have engaged them and are keeping them at bay." The fairy of technology said as she studied the live video images on her handheld. "We better hurry, my parents still haven't fully recovered from their injuries." Tecna nodded and pushed faster.

When they arrived to the front gates they saw the royal guards all unconscious around the court yard along with destroyed shrubbery. "Mom! Dad!" Daphne exclaimed as she flew as fast as she could to defend them from an attack. "Hey Daphne come to join the party?" Oritel asked with a bright smile. "Yea you guys are having _some_ party without me, but it seems that some unwanted guests appeared. DANCE OF LEAVES!" "BIO-RHYTHMIC BLAST!" Tecna exclaimed as she shot her own spell after Daphne's.

"Hey watch it fairy!" Icy exclaimed as she just barely missed Daphne's attack, but she was disappointed when she saw that Stormy was hit by Tecna's blast. Darcy charged up her attack and turned it to Tecna "Why you—. DARK RAY!" "DIGITAL ROOM!"

The fairy of technology did well to defend against Darcy's attack but when Stormy added her 'Dark Lightning', Tecna's shield was destroyed and she was knocked out. "Tecna!" Daphne exclaimed before facing Icy once more 'I can't hold off these three on my own… what should I do?'

Suddenly she saw that Throen arrived and was tending to Tenca. "Thoren get back!" "I can't love… there is someone here who is very determined to give a message to your parents." He said as he glanced behind him. That was where Daphne saw the Cari's light brown haired friend. "I know you… wait where's Cari?" Daphne exclaimed as she blocked another attack from Icy, while her parents kept Stormy and Darcy at bay.

"That is what I need to tell you…" the young girl started as tears started to fall from her face as she looked back and forth between the royal family members. "I'm sorry… I couldn't do anything to stop him… I tried my best… but…h-he took her… he took Cari!" "Wait who did?" the king asked as he blocked an attack from Stormy. "I don't know… He was a tall and scary man dressed in all black… he just appeared out of the shadows and… took her…" the royal family was so shocked they didn't know what to do for a split second, but they all thought the same thing 'Eldus!'. Hearing the Trix's laughter reminded them that they were in the middle of battle.

They forced themselves to concentrate on the evil witches but when they did they saw devious grins on their faces. "Well, that is our cue to split." Darcy said coldly. The Trix laughed as they opened up a portal. "Watch out your _highnesses_, the next time we face each other you won't be left with your lives. Now that we have our trump card, the end will come soon." Icy said with a smirk. "You best say your final goodbyes now." Stormy said with a laugh as she and her sisters turned and went through the portal and disappeared.

Everyone was so shocked they were frozen in place; it seemed that everything around them was eerily quiet; the only sound they could hear was the cries of a young girl. After a short moment the King and Queen regained their composure, they looked at each other and nodded. They took a moment to take in the scene around them. A guard had awoken and was starting to stand on his own. "Are you alright? Can you walk on your own?" Oritel asked the knight. He stood up straight once he heard his king's voice. "Yes, your majesty!" "Ok, can you go and call Meditrina and her entire healing ward to come and assist your companions? We will wait here for her arrival." "Yes, Sir." "O and do make sure you are checked by a healer yourself." Marion said as he started to turn towards the castle "Yes, your majesty."

Once he ran off into the castle they turned to see their eldest daughter checking on Tecna and walked over to them. "Daphne how is Tecna?" "She's ok mom, just a little shell shocked and she's already waking up." "Ugh, what happened?" Everyone paused not sure how to say it. Tecna grew concerned with the awkward silence and looked around to find the source of the crying. "Umm… why is Cari's friend crying? What happened?"

Daphne took a deep breath "Tecna I need you to send a mass emergency message to the Winx including Bloom… Eldus has kidnapped Cari…"

* * *

"Ok good job today Bloom you are holding up well while I attack you with 75% of my power. Soon I will be able to raise it again." Bloom just nodded her gratitude since she was too tired and short of breath to properly respond. "Hmm… you shall now take an hour break. In the meantime I shall evaluate your fiancé's progress." Bloom nodded again as she slowly walked over to her water bottle and laid down next to it.

Glaedr turned and walked over to Sky who was getting better at handling the sword that he gave the prince. 'He is gradually improving more and more… I did not expect him to improve this much… surprising… speaking of surprises I haven't checked up on Cari in a while… I should reach out and look…' As Glaedr reached out his senses to locate the young girl he stopped dead in his tracks just a few feet away from where Sky was training. 'No this can't be right… where is she? She can't just disappear from my sight'

Since he could not locate her he decided to look at the Domino royal family. That was where he saw them walking into the castle and trying to soothe a crying girl around Cari's age. "Now, now dear. No need to cry anymore it wasn't your fault." The queen said with a gentle smile. "I know… but I could've convinced… him that I was Cari… that way she… wouldn't have been taken. O-or I could've done a better job… at convincing Cari… to stay. Princess Bloom is going… to be d-devastated to hear… that her child… was kidnapped!"

'Well, that's not good news… should I tell her? But she's not done with her training… she might leave if I tell her… and she won't have a chance at winning if she doesn't complete it… but she will resent me if I keep it from her… just like Jeanne did…' "Glaedr what's wrong?" Sky asked when he saw the deep in thought dragon just a few feet away. 'Sigh' "Come prince, there is something I must tell the both of you."

The two walked back to the resting Bloom. She opened her eyes and sat up when she sensed them near. "Hey guys what's up?" "There is important news from the outside world that I must discuss with you, Bloom. But for me to tell you, you MUST promise to remain calm and collected, and you cannot make illogical or rash decisions. Agreed?" Bloom had a bad feeling but agreed to the terms. 'I shall tell her quickly and distract her… that always worked on Jeanne…' "It seems that Domino was attacked and during the commotion Eldus took young Cari. I regret to inform you that your child has been kidnapped… Now that I have told you, in 50 minutes we shall begin your training once again, but in the meantime you should watch Sky practice he has become quite skilled with my sword."

Glaedr started to turn to give them space when Bloom's power spiked and he was forced to face her once again "How can I TRAIN at a time like this? I need to get her BACK, immediately! Even if that means I have to face Eldus NOW! How do you know anyway?!" 'Sigh… here we go…' "You _must_ train at a time like this. How do you expect to defeat Eldus and safely return Cari if you were struck down the moment you step through his front door? You don't even know where they are now, so instead of searching blindly focus on your training to even have a chance to get your child back. And I know for certain she was taken because I have the ability to 'check in' on the worlds as I choose. I saw a young light brown haired girl telling your family that she saw Cari get taken. Now I suggest you calm down before you pass out from exhaustion, we did just finish an intense training that left you practically drained."

Bloom glared at Glaedr's cool expressionless face and started to get more frustrated with the fact that he was right and that there was nothing she could do. But she couldn't calm down she wanted to explode, she slowly felt herself losing control. The only thing that made her pause and regain focus was Sky stepping into her sight of vision. "Bloom, Love, you need to calm down. Glaedr is right if we train then we have a better chance at getting Cari back safely than not at all. Think my love we only have a little more than three months of training to go, it will go by quickly just like the first seven months did." Bloom shook her head with tears in her eyes "She can't wait three months Sky, who knows what Eldus will do to her in that time." Sky gently whipped away a tear that fell from Bloom's right eye. "Don't you remember my love, three months in here is equivalent to about one and half hours out there. Nothing bad will happen in such a short amount of time. We just need to focus on getting stronger so we can get our daughter back and be a happy family, right?" Bloom paused but calmed down enough to sit back down and nod. "Your right, Sky. We will get stronger and be happy in the end." Bloom turned to Glaedr "Let's being, now."

But the dragon just shook his head. "Your rest period is still for another 50 minutes. You must first replenish your energy, and rest well Bloom because I am increasing my power level this time around." Bloom understood and was grateful that he was pushing her so she just nodded. "As for you Prince, I need to show you a special ability that your sword possesses. But be warned if the sword does not recognize you as its new master then it will not protect you from the extremely painful recoil. Are you up for the challenge?" "Of course." "Good let's begin."

* * *

"You have completed your training guardian… and a week early at that." Glaedr said to Bloom who was in her fairy form. "Thank you for pushing me so much these last few months, I appreciate it." Bloom said with a slight bow after she released her fairy form and returned to her normal workout clothing. "hmm… just remember your lessons and you will protect your family." Bloom just nodded.

"I do have a question to ask you…" She paused "well, what is it?" he asked a bit impatiently "You knew how I would react when I heard that Cari was kidnaped. You must have figured that there was a chance that I would run out of here and blindly look for her, even with the knowledge that I would fall in battle." "Your point?" "Why did you tell me at all? Why didn't you keep it a secret until now? That would have been the logical thing to do." 'at least she is thinking tings through now…'

"Because I did not want to make the same mistake twice." "What do you mean?" "I kept important information from Jeanne. I thought that keeping it a secret would be best for her, that way she would be able to fight detached and to her fullest, it was the logical course. I intended to tell her the truth eventually, after she secured peace to the magical dimension once more." He said with a shrug "But I did not predict that she would find out the way she did, and at the most important fight." His eyes showed sadness and a hint of regret "How important was this secret that it would affect her in a fight?"

"It was about her cherished childhood friend. From what she knew: he went missing and was never found soon after she got engaged. Since his chosen career was to seek knowledge, especially ancient and forbidden knowledge like the secret of the dark arts, he would go to often cursed and dangerous ruins alone. But he was always time oriented, he would always return every month to restock his supplies. One day when he was expected back, he didn't return…that was when everyone thought he had died on one of his expeditions… that the curses he surrounded himself with, finally caught up with him. They assumed that he never returned to Domino. But I was the only one who knew the truth."

"Why only you?" "Back then I had a special barrier around the planet where it would alert me every time someone left or entered Domino. Every time someone would enter the planet I would monitor their activities for a few days to make sure they were not infected with darkness. On the day of his return I saw him return safely to Domino and went straight to Domino Castle clutching a letter in his hands and with a bright smile. Since I saw a few words I noticed that it was Jeanne's handwriting. Later I found out that she wrote to him saying that she wanted to see and talk to him about feelings that she kept hidden for so long, and it seems that he misunderstood it as: his unrequited love for her was being returned. But when he arrived to the castle he conveniently arrived at the moment where Jeanne's lover, Leonard, proposed to her in the main garden in front of the royal court. His face dropped when he saw her accept and kiss him, and it looked like something broke within him. He ran from castle and towards the now dark forest. When he reached the deepest part of forest the darkness that wanted the destruction of Domino heard his cries and seduced him. He changed and became…"

Before he could finish they were interrupted by a huge explosion coming from the far end of the cavern. They turned to see Sky on the ground a couple of feet away from a crater in the ground. Bloom immediately got up and ran to him. "Sky! Are you ok? What happened?" she reached him in a matter of seconds and saw that he was already sitting up. He looked up and smile at his fiancé while rubbing his head. "yea sorry I thought I was ready for the sword's next power level… but I was wrong…sorry I worried you Bloom." Sky said as he stood up.

"But you withstood it fairly well young prince. You should be able to reach that level soon enough. Normally you would've been severely burned and hospitalized for at least 6 months." They both stared at him "How would you know for certain?" Bloom asked cautiously "Because King Leonard 'bit more than he could chew' once… I believe the modern saying is… after that Jeanne was very adamant on me closely watching his training… it was annoying…" Bloom turned to Sky  
"Now _YOU_ aren't allowed to train like that without supervision." "But Bloom I can handle it on my own." "Nope I will at least train with you every time you try to exceed your limit even by a little bit, understood?" "We will discuss this later… anyway are you done with your training?" Bloom gave him a look that said 'I won't forget about this…' "Yes I completed my training. I am ready to face my next destiny." She stated with certainty.

"But I recommend that you not leave for another week." "What why? What difference would that make?" Bloom remarked "It could make all the difference. You will intensely train and polish your skills for a five days, especially our team work. The sixth day you will rest and fully restore your energy and the seventh day you will head out. Perfecting a skill will make the difference between losing or winning, between life or death." Glaedr gave her a stare that told her that he was extremely serious. And she knew he was right. "Very well Glaedr. We will face Eldus in one week…" She turned to face her fiancé. "And get our baby girl back."

* * *

"Eldus how long is this brat going to sleep?" Icy asked as the four watched the small girl sound asleep on a spare bed they had in Darkar's castle. "Well ladies, a child needs her sleep. Besides I want her at her most powerful tomorrow, because that is when we will use her to bring about my new reign!"


	39. Chapter 38:Enemies in Disguise

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_HAPPY NEW YEAR! I wish everyone the best this year! May you have a wonderful new year with new beginnings and renewed determination! You are ALL BEAUTIFULLY WONDERFUL!_

_Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 38  
****Enemies in Disguise**

The sun shone bright as it brought morning to the open cave as Bloom, Sky and Glaedr walked out of the cavern for what felt like a year, but was only hours. "I had forgotten how beautiful a lush forest could be." Bloom said as she stretched the arms above her head. "Then maybe I should change the scenery in the training cavern to a forest instead of a desert. Since you will be doing your training there from now on, it should be how you like it." Glaedr remarked "No is fine. It's perfect for training I just meant this is a change from the yearlong scenery." Bloom said in hopes she wouldn't hurt his feelings on how he decorates "Hmm…but do not forget guardian, only six hours have passed outside the barrier." "Yes, I remember. Thank you for all that you did Glaedr." Bloom said with a slight bow. He nodded before saying: "You may now call on me whenever you wish guardian. Whether it is for battle or training we can now communicate with each other no matter which world you happen to be in. Just do your best not interrupt me when I slumber." "Thank you that reassures me. Well then I shall see you soon…most likely in battle…when I face Eldus once and for all" Bloom said as she held onto Sky's hand as if it was a life line.

"I will await you're summoning then… and Bloom now that I am out of the barrier I have a better feel of everything…" "Did you find Cari? Is she safe?" "I still cannot pinpoint her exact location, it is shrouded in mist and seems be hidden in a special dark barrier… but I can tell you that she is safe. I can sense that she is currently sleeping peacefully. No harm has come to her. But I do sense Eldus right beside her and he is currently collecting energy from darkness. He must be preparing for the final battle as you are; he enjoys attacking suddenly and quickly. So do not be alarmed if he appears today." "I will be ready for him, and I will be ready to take him down." "Well, that is the good thing I suppose." Eldus said absentmindedly. "What do you mean?" "3,000 years ago, I did not have this time barrier around the cavern. So when Jeanne would come to train with me she would be gone the same time she was with me. And that varied from days to weeks to months, but she always trained _at least_ three straight days with me. Eldus knew this and most likely will not be expecting you, or at least not trained." Bloom grinned at that news. "Well, I will be glad to see his disappointed face then."

Eldus nodded once in agreement "But be warned Bloom: I sense the darkness growing and waiting as if it is preparing to pounce the moment it has a chance." "And I will be prepared to pounce back." She said with determination in her eyes. "Good but you must keep a few things in mind: you must keep Jeanne's locket with you, it might prove useful later… next, remember everything you were told and teachings during this journey… and finally, don't forget that things aren't always what they seem…" Bloom hesitated but nodded once as she and Sky began their return to Domino castle.

* * *

After walking for some time Sky began to wonder why Bloom was so silent. "Bloom is something wrong?" When there was no response he called out to her again "Bloom?" Bloom slightly jumped at her name "Umm… yes Sky?" "Are you ok? I had to call your name a couple of times." "Oo sorry I was deep in thought." "What about?" "About what Glaedr said before we left him. That 'things aren't always what they seem.' That was the exact same thing that Omnia told me after Musa's wish was granted. Why would they both say that to me? Who or what is that referring to?" "I don't know Bloom but we should soon find out. But right now let's focus on getting our little girl back and defeating Eldus." Bloom nodded and smiled.

"Say why don't we fly home instead of walk?" Bloom said as she held out her hand for him to accept. The young Prince smiled and nodded while he reached out to accept her hand. As soon as he held her hand they both started to float up. Sky was very surprised; he expected to wait a bit for Bloom to transform in order to fly. "Wait how are you flying without transforming?" "Glaedr taught me a while back. He said it will be useful to know something as 'simple' as this, but let me tell you it wasn't simple at all." Bloom said with a giggle at the memory of her many failed attempts and even landing on the unexpecting Glaedr at times. "But I'm glad that he taught me…its pretty nice trick to know, right?" Sky just smiled and nodded his head at his cute smiling fiancé.

As soon as he did they floated past the last tree branches before breaking free of the forest. As they flew above the tree line they looked up and saw the limitless stars shimming above them. After a moment of admiring the scenery, Sky took a glance at Bloom and saw her softly glowing beautifully in the moonlight. 'Wow…' "Bloom will you marry me?" Sky asked as he stared mesmerized. Bloom looked to Sky with a confused expression. "What are you talking about Sky? You already asked me that." Her words shook him from his trance. "I know I just wanted to hear your answer again. It made me very happy the first time and you just look so beautiful in the moonlight I just felt like asking again." Sky said with a slight blush. Making Bloom blush a deep red. "Oo Sky you are such a charmer." She pulled him close and gave him a passionate kiss. "I would be the luckiest girl in the world to marry you, Sky. I love you." Bloom said with love dancing in her eyes. "I love you too Bloom. With all my being." He responded with the same love.

The two flew to Domino castle through the cool starry night sky laughing and talking the whole way until the castle was in their sights. Bloom lead them to her room's balcony and landed softly with Sky beside her. "Well, we made it." Bloom said as she opened the balcony doors and entered her room. She look around and walked to one of the small tables in her room where she turned on the nearest lamp.

Sky smiled softly at his fiancé and stepped toward her until he held her in his arms. "You better get some sleep, my love." 'Sigh' "Maybe your right…" "I know I am." He bent down and gave her a soft kiss. "Sweet dreams my princess." Bloom slightly nodded as Sky released her and walked to the door to go to his own room.

Right when he was about to reach and open the door Bloom grabbed his other hand to stop him. He turned to face her. "What's wrong Bloom?" "The thing is I don't think I can fall asleep after all." "Why not? The sudden time difference?" "That… and I don't think I can sleep alone…" Bloom said as she sadly glanced at her empty bed. "I think I have gotten used to having Cari sleeping in my arms each night…it feels lonely without her here…" Sky smiled softly at her "But you were able to sleep just fine in the training cottage." "That was because you were really close by… and it was hard to get a really good night's sleep if I didn't pass out from exhaustion. And now you will be at the other end of the long hall… I can't help but feel restless"

Sky thought about it. 'She must really be worried about Cari…' "Then what do you want to do? We can't train, you need to properly rest… want me to stay beside you until you fall asleep?" Bloom slightly blushed and shook her head. "Can you just stay here and watch movies with me?" Sky arched an eyebrow "movies?" Bloom nodded "I don't think I will be able to get any sleep at all and since you said no to training… I thought about our last date and how we just sat around and watched movies…oo but maybe you want to get some rest… never mind then…I'll be fine." Bloom said as she let him go and turned away in embarrassment. Sky shook his head and smiled as he embraced her from behind and feel her melt against him. "I don't think I can get any rest either… so what movie shall we start with?"

* * *

"Mmm…" "Well, good morning young Cari. Did you sleep well?" The young girl sat up on her bed and looked around the dimmed room until she noticed a dark figure in the far corner sitting on a large chair with an open book in his hands. "Good morning, Mr. Eldus. I slept well thank you… a bit lonely… but well." the young girl said as she hugged a pillow. 'I miss Bloom hugging me while I sleep…' "Hmm… how about later we find you a stuffed animal for you to sleep with? And no need for formalities my dear, just call me Eldus." He said with a smile. Cari just nodded.

"Now you must be hungry since you fell asleep so soon after you arrived here last night, and I am pretty sure that you missed dinner." The young girl nodded and slightly jumped off the bed as Eldus walked over and held out his hand for her to accept.

"Eldus I feel pretty tired for some reason." She told him as they walked to the kitchen "Oo don't worry about that my dear. Your body is just getting used to this place. It holds a strong power and only a certain type of people can adapt to immediately. For one so young it will take a little while to get adjusted, just don't over exert yourself, ok?" Cari nodded and looked around the large kitchen.

"Now what will you like to eat young Cari?" she took a moment to think "Oatmeal will be nice." "You're in luck. Oatmeal is my specialty." Eldus said with a wink. Cari gave him a small smile back as she sat at the table and waited for her breakfast. 'I wonder how Rosie is…I wonder if Bloom misses me… she might be happy that I am no longer her problem…she doesn't need to keep her promise to me anymore…' Cari thought to herself.

After a few minutes, Cari looked up when she heard Eldus walking over to her. She was shocked to see the tall dark man wearing a dark blue apron while holding two bowls in each hand. 'That apron looks weird on him…' the longer she stared at the man the funnier it was to see, until a giggle left her tiny lips. "Finally got a laugh out of you, my dear. But what may I ask is so funny?" "That apron doesn't really suit your appearance, Mr. Eldus." "Now, now what did I say about the formalities?" "Sorry M-I mean Eldus." "There we go. Now eat your fill before it gets cold." Cari nodded, took a bite and smiled even more. "Wow it's really good. The best I ever had!" "I told you, Oatmeal is my specialty." Eldus said as he started to eat from his bowl.

Once they finished Eldus took the bowls and washed them in the sink. Cari looked around the kitchen and noticed how gloomy it looked. It was nothing like the kitchen in Domino castle. There it was bright and always smelled of yummy food, while this one smelled more of stale bread with dimmed lights. It looked like it could be a kitchen from a haunted house. "Hey Eldus where are we?" "O just a castle that my friends were staying at. It keeps us hidden from prying eyes." "Why do you need to be hidden?" "Because there are many people out there who are after me and my friends. They don't understand that all we want is a place for where we belong, a world where everyone would accept us, our perfect home." "That's not nice." "No it isn't. We hope that one day soon we can make that home a reality." "How are you going to make it?" "Well, with our combined powers and hopefully with your help. We plan to make a perfect place for us to live in peacefully, but we are missing a few items in order to realize our dream." "O really like what?" "The Gem of Lilith for example. That is one of the items we need but we can't find yet." Eldus said as he dried the dishes.

"Oo I heard of that. Stella won that in a test she took at school. It sounded like a really hard test too." Eldus' eyes gleamed at the knowledge he had just gained. "Oo so Miss Stella found the Gem. How wonderful for her… I wonder if she would allow us to borrow it for a while." "Maybe… if you ask. But since she just got it I don't think she will want to share it yet." "Perhaps she will be more willing if you asked her?" "Hmm… that might work…" Cari pondered "But I don't know if I am ready to face the Winx yet… I mean I'm sure Bloom told them about wanting to send me away… they might be happy that I decided to leave them first… just like how Bloom would be happy now…" Cari said with a sad look in her eyes. "Bloom you say? When did you last talk to her?" "Yesterday. Why?" "Oo just thinking perhaps some miscommunication is at play here. But no worries my dear. I can send my friends to ask, she might be willing to share the gem if persuaded properly. And it will be good to properly greet young healthy Bloom." Eldus said with a mischievous smile.

"O ok… by the way who are your friends? Are they around?" Cari said as she looked around the kitchen thinking they might be hiding in the shadows like Eldus was that morning. "O they should be waking up later. They tend to sleep in a lot." "oo ok." 'Maybe they study until very late or something…' Cari thought as she began to hum a little tune.

'Hmm…it might be problematic if she recognizes the Trix from the battle with cloud tower… she might figure out our true intentions… perhaps a disguise is in order…' Eldus thought as he took off the apron. "Now that breakfast is over how about you run off and take a bath before we start our day? It's going to be a busy one." Eldus said with a smile. Cari nodded and got up.

She followed him to the large spacious bathroom. "Wow this is a pretty big bathroom." "Sure is… will you be alright on your own?" "Yup I can manage." "Well, if you need anything just tell this little guy." Eldus said as he showed the young girl a small baby bat hanging on his arm. "Wow he's so cute! Is he yours? What's his name?" Cari asked as Eldus handed her the little bat and she began to pet it. "He's one of the many bats that live here in this castle. I just placed a spell on him to give him more intelligence, now he sees me as his master and serves me when I need him. I haven't named him though…" Eldus saw how much Cari liked the tiny bat. "so why don't you come up with a nice name for him?" "Really? Can I?" the young girl asked with excited eyes as she gently held the tiny creature in her hands and the sorcerer nodded. "I'll think of a really good name for you then." Cari said as she turned and entered the bathroom while Eldus closed the door behind her.

'Alright then… now to have a word with the Trix…' Eldus thought as he turned and walked to the Trix's room. He knocked on the door and waited for a response. When he heard nothing he knocked again. "Trix are you awake?" he said as he kept knocking on the door. Suddenly the door swung open and Stormy appeared with a ghastly face. 'Ugh… is this what they mean about girls with no make-up look like in this era?… now I _know_ Jeanne was a beauty among women… she never wore make-up… or looked like death… well except when she died…'

"If we don't answer then we are obviously sleeping!" Stormy said with a scowl. "Sorry my dear but we need to discuss something, urgently." "What is it that couldn't wait until later?" Darcy asked as she and Icy slowly sat up in their beds. "You three must disguise yourselves when you meet with Cari." "What? Why?'' Icy asked as she tried to fix her tangled hair. "Because she was there when you guys fought the cloud tower witches. And since she doesn't suspect I'm evil yet… I would like to keep it that way until I can convince her that darkness is the best opportunity for her… and I don't want her second guessing herself too early… she is already missing Jeanne's descendent…that Bloom."

"Wait Bloom? Didn't you get rid of her already?" "It seems that we were misled, my dear Icy… And I am certain that it was the current Queen's doing… I sensed strong trickery magic from her…" "Well, that's just great now we have to kill her all over again." Stormy said as she crossed her arms in frustration "She needs to stay dead this time." Darcy added

"So this kid, she holds the pure dragon flame? Won't that automatically sway her to the forces of good?" Icy asked "Not necessarily… I just need to convince her… she still hasn't received her wings yet so she can still be swayed to the darkness." Eldus said with certainty. "Why don't you just force her? Like Darkar did with Bloom." Darcy said with a shrug

"Oo yea… that's right Darkar turned Bloom into a dark fairy… it was amazing… his plans would've fully worked too if her prince charming wasn't there to mess things up and make her remember her stupid love for him." Stormy said as she rolled her eyes. "oo I have heard of a spell like that… I never heard that it was successfully completed." Eldus said as he thought back to the books he had read in the library. "But that might just work for young Cari." He said with an evil grin, which slowly faded after a moment.

"One big problem… if we begin that spell her powers will most likely resonate with Bloom's since they are connected with the Dragon Flame, and if that happens Bloom will make the pure magic of the dragon fire stronger. And it won't help if Cari is still doubtful or is thinking of her happy memories with Bloom. Making it impossible for us to complete that spell… well so long as Bloom still lives… If we finish her off… or even better, if we finish her off using Cari's magic. There will be no stopping the transformation and young Cari will be MINE!" Eldus exclaimed with an evil laugh.

"So… how are you going to use Cari to finish off Bloom I don't think that she will go and kill Bloom for us or anything…" Icy said. "I said use her magic my dear. Cari won't need to even lift a finger. I will just channel her powers through me and get rid of Bloom. Cari will think it is her fault, fall in despair and I will be there to comfort and show her the ways of comforting dark magic. Simple." Eldus said with a proud shrug.

"But first I need to earn her trust a bit more. And that means that you three need to disguise yourselves to look like 'innocent girls' who are just looking for their place in the world." He said with sarcasm. "So you three better practice your acting skills, get Cari to believe your story, and like you." Eldus said as he slightly glared at the Trix.

"Well how should we dress? Like a stupid fairy?" Stormy remarked. "I don't care but you cannot look like witches." He said as he waved at their outfits. "If you can't think of good disguises I will give you ones and trust me you will not like them at all. Besides if you follow my precise instructions like good little witches I will tell you where to find the Gem of Lilith." Eldus said as he left the room with the Trix steaming and walked to the library.

After a moment the Trix calmed down a bit. "Well, let's follow his orders for now or we will never get your gem Stormy or our new powers." Icy said to her sisters. "Fine but only because I want my unlimited power." Stormy said as she crossed her arms. 'Sigh' "Let's get this over with" Darcy said as she and her sisters cast a spell to change their appearance.

* * *

"I wonder where Eldus is, Glyde." The young girl asked her new tiny companion. "Scree, Scree" (no idea how to spell the noise a bat makes, sorry). She looked up when she heard Glyde call out and saw him spinning in circles before flying down the hall. "Hey wait up!" she said as she ran after the small creature. As they reached the end of the hall, Cari noticed a large door with heavy engravings on the frame. 'I wonder what is behind this door.' She looked up to see that Glyde was hanging on the door frame and tapping on the door. "Is Eldus in here?" She asked as she stepped forward and prepared to push the large door open. But as soon as she touched it, it slowly opened on its own.

Once open Cari carefully stepped inside with Glyde hanging off her shirt. "Why hello my dear Cari. Did you enjoy the bath?" Eldus said from one of the sofas in the middle of the room. Cari gave a small smile and nodded. "Yes, I did thank you. I wasn't sure where you were once I was done, but Glyde showed me the way." She said with a bright smile. "Glyde?" Eldus said with an arched brow. "Yea, you said I could name him." Cari said as she gently patted the small bat on the head with two fingers. "He likes to glide around the room so I decided to call him Glyde. What do you think?" "I think that is a very fitting name for him." Eldus said with a smile.

Just then the doors opened once more and three girls walked in. "Ah here are my friends that I talked to you about earlier my dear. Come ladies and introduce yourselves." Eldus said with a grin as he waved his hand to them, indicating for them to come closer.

At first Cari was nervous in meeting these new people and wondered if she would get along with them. But when she saw them she wasn't as scared anymore, they looked like they would've attended Alfea. "Hello there young Cari we have heard a lot about you. My name is Icy." The girl with the long light blonde hair that looked almost silver said with a smile. Her hair reached her waist and it was tied back into a half ponytail. She wore a simple blue short-sleeve dress with black stockings. "It is very nice to meet you, I'm Stormy." The girl with straight redish-brown shoulder length hair said. She wore a light blue sweater that had large red cuffs and a red trimmings around the neck and waist, with a dark blue short skirt. "I hope we can be friends. I'm Darcy." The girl with light brown hair said. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and had a few loose wavy tendrils that framed her face. She wore a light purple blouse, matching purple pleated skirt, and knee-high stockings.

Cari smiled at the three nice looking girls and nodded. "Hello it is very nice to meet the three of you." She said with a big smile, she looked down when she felt a slight tug on her shirt. "O and this is Glyde, my new friend." Cari said as she pointed to the baby bat still clinging on her shirt that did a little wave at the three disguised witches. 'Good, they used their own names… that makes it easy for me…' "Now that introductions are out of the way. Why don't we get to talking about how we plan to find our rightful place in the world, shall we?" Eldus said as he stood up and walked over to the four girls.

"How are we going to do that?" Cari asked. "Well my dear, first my three friends will go to Alfea to kindly ask Stella if she wouldn't mind letting us borrow her Gem of Lilith for a little while." He said with a smile as he patted the young girl on the head. "While you and I go back to Domino to take care of some unfinished business."


	40. Chapter 39: Welcome Back?

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus, Glyde and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_It is so exciting the final battle is just about to begin! I already can't wait for the next chapter! XD lol_

_Because of this blizzard i was able to properly work on this chapter and start on the next one. YAY SNOW! lol _

_Anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 39  
****Welcome Back….?**

Bloom stirred from her sleep on the couch, in Sky's arms, from a ray of sun that was peeking through her closed curtains. 'Hmm… the sun is so bright this morning… wait…what time is it?!' Bloom jumped up and grabbed her phone that was on the floor beside her. 'Oh my gosh it's so late!'

"hmm… Bloom what's wrong?" Sky asked after he was startled awake from Bloom jumping from his arms. "I'm sorry I scared you Sky, but we over slept. It's almost noon." Bloom said as she showed him the time on her phone. "oo looks like we missed breakfast. I was looking forward to finally eating some pancakes and bacon, instead of oatmeal or cereal." Bloom smiled and shook her head at the memories of them pretty much only eating instant oatmeal and fish for a whole year. "Yea some real food would be good… but that's not the point! Remember Glaedr said that Eldus might attack today… we should be preparing and warning everyone, not sleeping in!" Bloom exclaimed as she stood up and walked to her closet to change into her battle clothes that Stella made for them. Sky yawned and slowly got up to change back into his Specialist uniform, then sat back down to wait for his fiancé.

A few minutes later they were walking down to the dining room hoping to find Bloom's family there eating lunch. As they entered the room they saw everyone sitting at the large table and not looking surprised to see them. "Welcome Back!" The king and Queen said in unison. "Bloom I was wondering how long you two were going to sleep in." Daphne said as she got up and hugged her little sister. "You knew we were back?" Bloom said as she hugged her older sister back. "Of course I did. I watched over you for your entire life as a spirit, so of course I was in tune with your magical aura. I could find you anywhere in the whole magical universe, if I wanted to." Daphne said with a wink.

"So how was your training Bloom?" Tecna asked with a confused smile. "I calculated that you would train longer than a single night, especially factoring in the need to become powerful enough to defeat Eldus." "Well you have a point there Tecna. I actually trained for an entire year, but in reality it was only six hours." Bloom said with a wink. "How is that possible?" Tecna asked more confused than before. "Well, it seems that my sacred dragon knew a spell that allows time to move much slower when in a special barrier. Six hours out here in the real world is a year within the barrier, so to me it feels like I haven't seen you guys in over a year."

Everyone was speechless and just stared blankly until a butler walked into the room. "Ah Princess Bloom, Prince Sky, would you two like a plate to be served?" "Yes, please! I'm starving!" Sky said as he walked over to the table and pulled out a chair for Bloom to sit next to Tecna. The butler slightly bowed and left the room, as Sky sat down next to Bloom. "I can't wait for some real food!" he said with a happy smile. "Don't tell me, you guys didn't eat much in that year?" Oritel asked concerned. "No of course not, dad! We ate regularly… we just didn't have many options on the food." "What do you mean, my dear?" "Well, mom… Since we couldn't leave the barrier… all we had to eat was either the instant food we brought with us or the fish that was living in the pond next to the cottage. So we kind of missed the taste of a variety of foods." "Anything besides fish and oatmeal would be great!" Sky said as he started to drool over the food that was just being brought into the room.

* * *

Everyone was shocked to see Sky eat his third full plate of food and still ask for another one. "Are you sure you ate in that year, Sky?" Thoren asked his cousin. "Hey you try only eating grilled, baked, or roasted fish, the same type of fish by the way, everyday for lunch and dinner and just oatmeal or cereal for breakfast, which soon became only oatmeal. Then tell me you wouldn't want to eat a bunch of food when you have a chance!" Sky said in between bites. "Eh…yea that sounds tough…" Thoren said as he imagined those boring meals day in and day out. "yea well, now we know that when training with Glaedr bring a whole bunch of food, not just instant food, especially oatmeal." Sky said as he took a drink of water. "Try not to eat so fast Sky or you will end up chocking…" Bloom said to her fiancé when Tecna's phone started ringing.

Tecna saw that it was Stella so she decided to have the call on her phone projector for all to hear. "Hey Stella, how is it going at Alfea?" "HORRIBLE! We need help Tecna!" Stella exclaimed as you heard screaming in the background. "What is happening, Stella?!" Bloom exclaimed "Bloom?! I thought you were training with your partn-" Stella was cut off when a huge explosion was heard behind her and they lost visual for a moment. "Stella?!" Everyone exclaimed when they couldn't see the sun fairy. "I'm good! Just dropped my phone." "Stella what is happening?" Bloom asked with a serious face "The Trix are attacking Alfea! We are trying our best to keep them at bay but Darcy and Icy are using their artifacts. Its causing more damage than if they weren't using it…our barriers and shields keep breaking dow-" Stella tried to finish as another explosion was heard. "Stella try using a convergence spell with all the fairies there to reinforce the barriers around Alfea while the Specialists hold them off until we get there." "Got it!" Stella said as she hung up the phone.

"Looks like we got to go take care of the nasty Trix." Sky said as he sadly looked at his half finished fourth plate. "Hurry Sky, it takes time to do a convergence spell especially with so many fairies. I just hope the specialists can hold out until it is completed." "Good luck my dear." Marion said "I wish we could go with you but Meditrina said we can't fight just yet." The King said as he held his wife closer. "That's ok dad. We should be able to handle the Trix together. Daphen you and Thoren stay here in case something else happens." Bloom said as she nodded to Tecna and Sky, who nodded back. "Let's go!" Bloom turned to prepare to open a portal to Alfea when a guard busted through the doors. "Your Majesties! There is an intruder by the castle main doors! He has taken out many of the guards. We believe it is Eldus and he has Miss Cari with him!"

"WAIT WHAT?!" Bloom exclaimed "It's true Princess Bloom, but she was acting strange as if she didn't recognize or see anyone who called out to her." The guard said "Thank you for your report. Now go warn the rest of the castle to be on alert and to hide in the safe rooms, quickly." "Yes, king Oritel." The guard said as he ran out of the room.

Bloom just looked stunned at the news she just received. "Bloom, love?" Sky said as he gently grabbed both of her hands to get her attention. That gesture was enough to wake Bloom from her trance. "Sky what could he have done to her? Why is he back? What does he want now? He already took my child away from me." "And we will get her back, but we need to act fast." Bloom nodded and looked behind Sky to see her family waiting for her. She stepped sideways to fully face them. "Ok. Tecna you will go to Alfea and help the Winx get rid of the Trix." "Are you sure Bloom. I would think you would need all the assistance you can get… you are facing Eldus after all." The fairy of technology said with some worry in her eyes. "We'll be fine Tecna. Eldus will be no match for the royal domino family together." Bloom said with confidence. Tecna nodded, and then Bloom opened the portal to Aflea. "Be careful Bloom. Make sure you come back to us." "You be careful too Tecna." Bloom said with a smile and waved as the fairy of technology walked through the portal.

"Now let's get our little Cari back." Bloom said as she closed the portal and lead her family out the room to go face Eldus.

* * *

"But Eldus I don't think I am ready to go back to Domino yet…" Cari said as she looked up at the tall dark man with sadness in her eyes. "… what if I see Bloom?… she will be mad to see me again… and I left without saying anything, everyone must think I am rude…" "Don't worry my dear Cari. You will not see Bloom there, and I am sure no one really took notice or cared that you left." "How do you know?" Cari said with some hurt reflected in her eyes. "If they truly cared you had left without saying anything then they would have sent out a search party or something, but I haven't seen any indication that they are planning on doing so. I am truly sorry my dear, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." Eldus said as he knelt down and gave the small girl a hug when he saw tears beginning to form in her eyes. "It's ok… I rather know the truth than a lie…" She said as she tried her best to keep her tears away.

After a short moment Cari calmed down and Eldus let her go. "Have you calmed down now?" the young girl nodded with a slight smile. "I have another question though…" "yes?" "How do you know that we won't see Bloom?" "She went out to train in the sacred forest, right?" Cari nodded in agreement "Then she won't be back from that training for at least a few weeks if not longer. I know this because I remember her predecessor would do that every time she went to train no one would see or hear from her for long periods of time, and no one ever knew when she would be back. It's only been a night so it is unlikely that she is back by now." Eldus said with sure confidence. "Oo ok… but I'm still not too sure about going back yet… can I just stay here with Glyde and wait for you to get back?" the small girl asked with hope in her eyes.

'Looks like I will have to resort to magic for this one…' Eldus held out his left hand and snap his fingers, when he did a glittering silver rose appeared. "Wow, it's so pretty!" Cari said as she looked at it with awe. "It's for you my dear. As long as you wear it, it will give you confidence to do things you didn't want to do before…" Eldus said as he tucked the rose in her right pig tail. As soon as it was securely in her hair, Cari's bright alert blue eyes became dimmed and unfocused, as if she was in a trance.

"Umm… what happened?" Stormy asked when the little girl just stood there staring in front of her without focusing on anything in particular. "I just put a spell on the rose." Eldus said with a shrug as he stood up again "As long as she wears it she will be half conscious while obeying my every word. Isn't that right, my pretty little Cari?" The young girl slowly nodded a couple of times in agreement while still blankly looking in front of her. "This way I can do what I want without trying to be all nice about it." Eldus said with a smirk. "Now my clever witches go to Alfea and _kindly_ steal the Gem of Lilith from Stella. Once you have that I can boost up all your artifacts and then you can destroy what you will." Eldus said with an evil grin and laughter dancing in his eyes. The Trix reflected his expression and started to giggle at the thought of harming Stella.

"Hey Eldus can Darcy and I use our artifacts when we attack Alfea. To make things more fun?" Icy asked as she held out her Diamond of Isole. "Hmm… well since you haven't really been practicing with them it might be dangerous to use them right from the beginning. It may cause casualties if you are not careful… of course you can use them, have fun." Darcy and Icy smiled happily "Now if you will excuse us we need to go get to Domino."

"How are you going to get rid of Bloom if she's training in the sacred forest? You said yourself that she would be gone for weeks if we are lucky." "Ah you are correct my dear Darcy, but if I get rid of her family first, her dragon will know and send her back to protect the rest of the castle. In her despair she will be easy pickings, especially since she would not have had any time to properly do any training with him. I will have some fun with her first before I see the light fade from her bright blue eyes. Maybe slowly curse her beloved Prince while I'm at it…" Eldus said with a dark and pure evil smile. "Remind me to never get on his bad side…" Stormy whispered to her sisters, who nodded slowly in return.

"Now let us go young Cari." Eldus said as he held out his hand for her to accept and she obediently took his hand without hesitation. "Good luck Trix I expect to see you soon." The Dark sorcerer said as he opened the portal to Domino and stepped through. Once he was gone the Trix changed back to their true forms and walked through their portal to Alfea.

* * *

"Hmm… this castle hasn't changed much from when I remember. Still too happy looking, with bad memories around each corner. This body still seems to have some reaction to this place, maybe I should just destroy this whole planet that way I won't have any lingering emotions. Isn't that a good idea Cari?" Eldus asked with a smile, the young girl just nodded once with her blank face. "Ugh we should start with those eyesore roses. No one can reject them if they are completely destroyed." Eldus said with slight pain in his eyes as he sent a dark energy blast at them and burned them to a crisp.

"Halt! Who are you?!" A group of guards appeared and threateningly held their spears towards Eldus, preparing to attack. "Oo look the palace guards… they think they have a chance to stop us… how quaint… lets prove them wrong." Eldus threw a huge energy blast at the twelve guards that sent them flying in different directions and left a small crater where they had just stood while destroying some shrubs that were close by. "Oops perhaps I used a bit too much power that time… I should be careful I want to have a bit more fun before destroying this sickening place." The dark sorcerer said with a wicked laugh.

A short moment later another group of guards ran towards him once again after they took a quick look around and saw their comrades unconscious on the floor. "You are under arrest come quietly!" the leader of the group ordered Eldus. "Hmm… you look familiar… I think I might have cursed to death an ancestor of yours… oo how fun I get to curse the same bloodline twice!" He took a moment to look down and order Cari: "My dear, please hold on to my pants for now. I need both hands for this little trick." Cari just did as she was told, she let go of his hand and grabbed a handful of his pants while taking a small step back "Thank you my dear. Now…" he started to raise his hands above his head as a dark orb started to form between them. "Do enjoy the pain and sorrow and may you meet your death slowly!" Eldus said as he threw his curse to the group of guards before him smiling.

But just before it made contact a barrier appeared and protected the guards from any harm, and it sent the curse right back at Eldus. "What the!" Eldus exclaimed as he took a direct hit that forced him to kneel in pain. With slightly blurry vision, he looked up to see who was able to cast such a spell that only Jeanne knew. He froze when he saw a blurry fairy with brilliant blazing red hair standing by the main castle doors. "J-Jeanne? How? I thought I would never see you again…" Eldus said in a low voice.

"Eldus! How dare you return here!" Bloom exclaimed to the still dazed dark sorcerer. 'No… that's not Jeanne's voice… it's her decedent's… dam…' Eldus slightly shook his head and got up as he regained his composure. "Well, well, well, look who has returned from her short training venture. I thought I wouldn't see you until after I had destroyed your family." He said with a smirk. He was slightly annoyed when she didn't respond, that was when he noticed that she was no longer looking at him but something at his side. He looked down to see Cari rubbing her eyes. 'hmm…looks like some dust got into her eyes…' Eldus reached into his pocket and took out a handkerchief and handed to the small girl. "Here you are my dear." Cari took it and whipped her eyes as he patted her on the head.

"Don't you touch her! Give Cari back to me, NOW! Give me back my daughter!" Bloom yelled in anger, wanting to attack but scared she would harm the young girl. "The girl came to me of her own free will… now she is mine, but don't worry she won't recognize you even if you called out to her…" he started to laugh but it was soon cut off when he heard the young girl's voice. "B-Bloom…?" He looked down and saw that Cari was starting to regain full consciousness.


	41. Chapter 40: Tempers Rise

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus, Glyde and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Sorry it took me longer to finish than I wanted. But the busy season started so it will be harder to write :'( I will do my best to post when I can. _

_Now, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Miss Mystery, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all WONDERFUL! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 40  
Tempers Rise**

"The girl came to me of her own free will… now she is mine, but don't worry she won't recognize you even if you called out to her…" he started to laugh but it was soon cut off when he heard the young girl's voice. "B-Bloom…?" He looked down and saw that Cari was starting to regain full consciousness.

'How is that possible?! No one can break my spell so easily!' Eldus thought as he stood, shocked at the young girl next him starting to focus on the group in front of them. He shook himself out of it when he noticed that the girl was starting to let go of his pants to reach out in front of her. "Not so fast, my dear." He said as he waved his hand over the flower in her hair. When he did, the flower glowed ominously and started to turn a dark grey. Once it was a very dark grey Cari's arms went limp and her eyes slowly went blank once again with her head slightly hanging.

"Cari?!" Bloom panicked "I told you not to touch her! What did you do to her?!" she yelled as she charged up her powers to attack. "O not much." Eldus said with a shrug. "I just made my hypnosis spell stronger. Now I am certain young Cari won't see or even hear you anymore. All she cares about now is serving me until the end of her days." He said with a laugh.

"YOU MONSTER!" Bloom yelled as she threw her Volcanic Attack. Eldus laughed even more as he blocked her attack with one of his shields. "Now now Bloom you shouldn't attack me so carelessly, especially when young Cari is right beside me. I might not be able to block your attacks in time and you might accidently hurt her." He said with a cold smirk. "You would risk your hostage just to spite me?!" Bloom sneered. "I plan to win Bloom, by ANY means necessary… and Cari is not by any means a hostage. She was very eager to leave this place, to leave your side, she wanted somewhere where she could feel loved and wanted. Tell me, did you show her that? Or perhaps there was a moment where you wanted to… send her away?" Eldus said with knowing in his eyes.

Bloom froze. 'Cari knew that I asked Tecna to find a foster home for her… how?... she must've overheard us yesterday when Tecna told us Cari was my daughter… no wonder she was avoiding us that whole day…she must've been so hurt…' Bloom wrapped her arms around herself when she realized just how much she had unintentionally hurt Cari. "This is all my fault…" "Bloom what do you mean?" Daphne asked her younger sister. "I asked Tecna to find a good foster home to place Cari in yesterday." "What, why?" "Because Daphne, I felt that the longer she stayed with me the more in danger she would be in, but my biggest fear was that she would get too attached to me and would be devastated to lose her mother… if I didn't make it through this battle… no…" Bloom said as she slowly shook her head. "Maybe that's not completely true… I think _I_ was more afraid that I would not be able to use everything I have, to take down Eldus… because with Sky AND Cari waiting at home for me I will want to make it back at any cost…for them…" Bloom said as a tear escaped her eye.

"Awww how _disgustingly_ touching… who would have known that you had such strong feelings for a child you just _met_." Eldus said with cold sarcasm as he patted Cari on the head. "But you were right about one thing Bloom… you won't survive this battle!" he exclaimed as he threw a dark energy blast at Bloom. "RED DRAGON ORB!" Bloom exclaimed as she threw up her barrier to protect herself and her family.

The blast hit the barrier with such force it forced Bloom back a few inches and left her barrier with some cracks. Once the smoke that covered the barrier cleared, Eldus chuckled. "O you did well to hold up against that blast. I'm _slightly_ impressed. But it does not look like you will be able to withstand a second blast so easily." "I think I will do just fine." Bloom said with a glare and clenched teeth. "O? then let's put it to the test shall we?" Eldus said with a bright smile as he charged up another dark energy blast.

Bloom reinforced her barrier to withstand the oncoming attack. "Mom are you ready yet?" Bloom whispered to her mother that was slightly out of view behind her husband and Thoren, while still glaring at Eldus. "Almost my dear, just a few more seconds…" "Ok…once Eldus' attack makes contact we will use the smoke to follow through with the plan… get ready, everyone…" Bloom said loud enough for only her family and Sky to hear. In that moment Eldus sent his attack and it hit the shield much stronger than the first time.

'Dam that kinda hurt…' Bloom thought after she regained her footing after being forced back a couple of feet, but she was proud that her shield held out. Once she regained her footing she heard Eldus laugh. "How did you like that attack Bloom? I used some of Cari's powers that time. She holds some great power within her, power that I will use as I please from now on. With her at my side, there is no way for you to defeat me!" Eldus' laughter grew louder while Bloom's anger grew as she imagined his cocky grin. "You would steal power from a child just to defeat me?! You must really fear me more than I thought. How pathetic! You know you would lose to me, so you resort to something so despicable and under handing." Bloom said with disgust.

Eldus' calm demeanor faded for a moment. "Don't flatter yourself princess." He spat "I have no fear of you and I have no need of this child in order to defeat you. I just wish to make the descendent of Jeanne suffer more than I did. That is before I destroy you and everything you love. And Cari is the key in seeing your grief stricken face!" The dark sorcerer said with pure hatred.

Bloom heard her mother whisper. "Done" Bloom nodded "That is good to know then!" She exclaimed to Eldus "Now!" She said loud enough for only her family to hear. In that same second, Bloom opened up three gaps in her round barrier: right above her, to the left and to the right.

"Hmm… looks like three attackers are coming from three different angles." Eldus said with a smirk as he saw three distinguished movements coming out of the smoke, all coming towards him with alarming speed. "How quaint… too bad they can't do much as long as you are by my side, right Cari?" He didn't look down because he needed to pay attention to oncoming assault. Now that the attackers were out of the smoke he saw that Daphne was attacking from the far right, Bloom from above and Sky from left. 'Hmm… well the only real threat among these three is Bloom. I will focus more on her. Sky might have some close combat skill but as long as he stays far he will be of little concern. And that blonde girl… she has the dragon flame within her so she must be of the royal family… but she is nothing compared to Bloom. It won't matter if Sky or that girl even touch me… are they supposed to be a distraction?… cute, for now let's blow them all away…' "Ready my dear Ca-"

Eldus hesitated when he felt a sharp tug on his pant leg. He looked down to see that Cari was no longer holding onto him but was sitting in a strong barrier. "What the -?" Eldus started to turn and reach for Cari. "You shouldn't lower your guard down with me Eldus!" Bloom exclaimed above him as she charged up her 'Volcanic attack'. 'Dam she's not holding back…' the dark sorcerer was forced to turn back and focus on Bloom, but not before glancing at Queen Marion who was concentrating on her barrier's spell. 'That queen is the cause for that barrier!'

He had just enough time raise his arms to barely block the 'Volcanic Attack'. 'Dam I need to focus…' "Don't forget about me!" Sky yelled as he took out his sacred sword and began an upward swing at Eldus' chest. What surprised Eldus was not the fact that the young Prince was able to cover so much ground within the same time it took Bloom to reach him with her wings, but the fact that had a good look at the familiar sacred sword. 'Crud! That's Leo's sword!' Eldus thought to himself as his barrier was shattered by the combined attacks and thrown back some feet.

Once the smoke had cleared from where the dark sorcerer landed Bloom and Sky saw him slowly stand up clutching his chest. There they saw that Sky's sword had made contact and left a large bleeding cut, diagonally on his torso, from his lower right side to his left shoulder. They stayed on guard as Eldus staggered to his feet while looking down, slightly hiding his face, while he started to laugh.

"Hahaha I didn't expect that conceited old dragon to have given that sword to anyone besides Jeanne's beloved. He always said no one was worthy enough to hold his _precious_ sword… that no one was _worthy_ enough to protect Jeanne besides him. Such a horrible liar… he rejected _everyone_ until that worthless Leo came along. All of a sudden he was the most worthy man to protect his beloved sacred partner." Eldus looked up and glared at Sky with pure hatred, laughter gone. "And now he shows that _YOU_, a puny child who calls himself a prince… is worthy?! O I will show that '_powerful'_ Glaedr just how wrong he was!"

Eldus suddenly threw a powerful attack at Bloom and Sky. "RED DRAGON PROTECTION!" Bloom exclaimed as she jumped in front of Sky and threw up her shield. Once it made contact it forced them back a few feet before completely shattering the shield and sending them flying back a few more feet, almost back to where the King and Queen were waiting.

"Bloom! Sky! Are you ok?!" Daphne yelled as she held onto Cari who was still in the barrier that the Queen placed around her. "I do not believe that you are at liberty to be concerned of others besides yourself, Princess." Eldus said as he towered above the crown princess. Daphne turned to face Eldus just to be frightened at the dark and hate filled eyes staring back at her. "Now I believe that you have something that belongs to me. And I would like to request that you return it… immediately." Daphne shook herself out of her fear. "Cari is NOT a thing. She is my niece, and I won't give her to you!" Daphne said as she started to back away with Cari in tow. Eldus just shrugged "I tried to ask nicely."

He suddenly punched his fist out and sent a dark blast directed at Daphne's abdomen. She was too slow to deflect it and took a direct hit. With the force of the blast she let go of Cari and was thrown so far back that she was about to land by the castle entrance where everyone was crowded around. "DAPHNE!" Thoren yelled out as he ran out of Bloom's barrier to catch his wife. Once in his arms Daphne looked up shakily as her fairy form quickly faded away. "I'm sorry… I wasn't fast enough… to bring Cari back…" the Nymph whispered as she lost consciousness.

Bloom and Sky had run over to check on her. When Bloom heard what her sister said she gently tucked a stray hair from her face. "Don't worry Daphne. I will get Cari back no matter what, so you just rest now." Bloom looked up to face Thoren. "Go and take her to Meditrina, and stay with her." He hesitated for a moment. "But won't you need all the help you can get?" Bloom shook her head. "We'll be fine Thoren. Besides I was always destined to face Eldus alone." Bloom glanced down at her sister. "And she needs you more right now. Take care of her ok? And make sure she knows just how much I appreciate her help and all the sacrifices she made for me. Now go!" Thoren paused for a moment but saw that Eldus was walking closer to Cari and knew he had to get Daphne away from any more injuries. He stood up with his wife close in his arms and ran back into the castle to where Meditrina was treating the injured.

Bloom faced Eldus once again. She saw that Cari was still in the barrier. "How are you doing mom?" Bloom whispered loud enough for her parents to hear. "Fine… its taking more… effort than I thought…" the queen said in between breaths. "If it's too much then just stop." "I can keep going…" Bloom hesitated but she knew how determined everyone was to get Cari back "Then brace yourself, it looks like Eldus is going to try to break it soon."

Eldus stood tall above Cari, still bleeding from his wound that Sky gave him. "Do you really think that this little barrier is enough to save Cari from _me_?" He said in a hoarse voice and clouded eyes. He slowly reached out and tried to touch the barrier, but found that he was quickly rejected by a sharp shock well before even touching it, making him withdraw his advances. "That hurt…" the dark sorcerer said with an emotionless tone. Eldus started to reach out once again towards the barrier, everyone thought he would just be rejected once again until his hand started to have an ominous glow to it. "This won't stop me from getting what I want…" Eldus said barely loud enough to hear.

The glow started to surround the barrier; it creepily reached out, looking for any weak points in the barrier. Everyone held their breath in hopes that it would fail. Bloom glanced back and saw that it was taking a toll on her mother; she looked like she was getting more worn out every second that passed. Bloom prepared to attack as she looked back to Eldus she paused when she saw that the barrier was completely covered in the ominous glow and it was difficult to see Cari.

"The interesting thing about barriers is that they automatically defend against an attack at the concentrated area." Eldus said to no one in particular as he stroked his hand on the dark glowing barrier. "If you are skilled enough, it can perfectly protect more than one area, but not _one_ can defend for very long against attacks from every inch…" Eldus said as he aggressively curled his fingers against the barrier, as he did the ominous glow started fluctuating. It looked like it was sending small but powerful needle like attacks everywhere around the barrier at the same time.

"Agh!" Bloom turned around and saw that her mom collapsed to her knees. "Marion, are you alright?" King Oritel asked as he knelt beside her. "He's… too strong… the barrier… is going to break…" the queen said shakily "Its ok my love just release the spell you shouldn't exhaust yourself too much you are still recovering." Marion just shook her head. "I'm not… done yet…I just need… a bit more… time…" the queen said in between labored breaths.

"This little game is now over!" Eldus said as he made a fist. Once he did the ominous glow expanded for a moment, then quickly and aggressively squeezed the barrier so tight it just shattered. As the barrier shattered the glow exploded outward. It caused the nearby shrubby and grass to wither and die as well as leave a small crater in the ground where Cari was currently kneeling.

"Ahh!" Marion screamed as she fainted when the barrier was destroyed. King Oritel caught his queen before she completely fell to the ground "Marion!" he held her close as he glared daggers at Eldus. Bloom ran over to check on her mother. She used her healing powers to transfer some of her energy to her mom. "Don't worry dad, mom will be fine she just needs to rest. Go take cover in the castle, we will take care of this." Bloom looked up and saw that Cari was standing next to Eldus once again, but something was different this time. The rose was no longer dark grey it looked much lighter now, maybe even lighter than when she had arrived. "And tell mom that she did more than enough. Now I'm sure I can get Cari to come back willingly." Bloom smiled as she watched her father carry her mother into the castle before standing up to stand next to her fiancé.

"Did you really think you could keep me apart from my energy booster? I fight for what I want. Now give me your hand my dear Cari I need your healing abilities." The young girl raised her hand and Eldus' greedily took it. Once her tiny hand was in his, he squeezed it. Bloom was able to see Eldus sucking the power out of Cari, and the young girl flinch as the power was absorbed by the dark sorcerer. She saw that his wound began to heal at such a rapid pace. Until there was no longer any damage to him or his clothes, it was as if Sky never cut him. 'I am going to beat him to a pulp… But there was a reaction from Cari… she might be starting to regain consciousness.' Bloom thought hopefully.

"Ah! That felt very refreshing. This girl is like an endless stream that will make sure my cup will never be even slightly empty. You should've used her like this as well, young guardian." Eldus said with a grim but bright smile. "Cari is not a _tool_! She is just a little girl who deserves to come home and away from a crazy madman like you! I promise you I will take her back!" Bloom exclaimed. "O I don't think that you will be able to AND make it back alive." Eldus said while laughing.

Suddenly a portal opened up behind Eldus and Cari. They turned around to see a girl with straight redish-brown shoulder length hair coming through the portal. He smiled as he said: "Why my dear Stormy. I assume your mission was successful?" "Very. Those stupid fairies had no idea what was happening when we first attacked. It was fun to toy with the Winx's protective nature, and even better when they broke down once we started hurting their beloved underclassmen. It was easy to have Stella give us what we want." Stormy said as she held out the Gem of Lilith "Very good job, Stormy. Now let us get on to the next step." Eldus said as he held out his free hand. Stormy nodded and took out the other two artifacts from her pocket and held them out for Eldus to take: Icy's Diamond of Isole, Darcy's Tear of Achlys, and the Gem of Lilith. "Excellent. Now be a dear and entertain Bloom and Sky, and in your normal appearance. That innocent face isn't to my liking." Stormy looked down at Cari who was blankly looking ahead of her.

Stormy whispered loud enough for only Eldus to hear. "I thought you wanted our real identities to be kept a secret from that." Stormy said as she pointed to Cari "oo no worries she won't even recognize you. I strengthened the hypnosis spell, so right now she's in her own dream world. Whether it is a happy dream or a nightmare is no concern of mine. But she will stay there until the end of her days." Eldus said loud enough for even Bloom to hear. "Whoa she's mad isn't she?" Stormy said with mocking smile when she felt Bloom's power spike. "I do believe you are correct my clever little witch." Stormy smiled even brighter as she glanced at Bloom who was steaming behind them.

Without breaking eye contact with Bloom, Stormy knelt down in front of Cari and placed a hand on her head. "Don't touch her!" Bloom said as she threw an attack at them. Eldus' barrier easily blocked her attack as if it was a gust of wind. "You shouldn't attack when your emotions are not kept in check. Jeanne had much better control… well most of the time." Eldus said as he mockingly smiled at the fairy.

Stormy looked into Cari's eyes. "Your mother is quite unstable with you in harms way. I can't wait to make her fall…hmm… looks like it's time to have some fun." Stormy softly lowered her hand brushing the side of the young girl's face until Stormy's fingers stopped underneath Cari's chin and sharply forced the child to look at her before she continued. "Eldus said you were there when we fought Cloud Tower in the forest. But I don't think you are smart enough to remember me." Stormy said as she released her disguise and returned to her original appearance. Stormy stood up laughing when she saw no reaction from the small child. "O how I hated being dressed as a stupid fairy. Now Bloom…shall we have some fun?" Stormy said as she charged at the couple before her.


	42. Chapter 41: Afea Vs the Trix

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus, Glyde and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Sorry it took me a while to post. I've been CRAZYYYY busy, but even though I have been writing little by little until I finally finished the chapter. i kinda didn't expect it to become this long of a chapter. Thank you for being patient with me. _

_Anyway, please enjoy this slightly long chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, Srthob, Winxclubbs, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AMAZINGLY AWESOME! XD _

' **Thinking to oneself **'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 41  
****Alfea Vs the Trix!**

"Now let us go young Cari." Eldus said as he held out his hand for her to accept and she obediently took his hand without hesitation. "Good luck Trix I expect to see you soon." The Dark sorcerer said as he opened the portal to Domino and stepped through. Once he was gone the Trix changed back to their true forms and walked through their portal to Alfea

"Eww this place looks as happy as ever, doesn't it?" Stormy said as she saw the Alfea campus. The Trix were hovering right above the school's barrier while using their invisibility spell. "So how are we going to get Stella to give us the Gem of Lilith?" Darcy asked. "Hmm… well since we have our artifacts why don't we practice with them. Maybe the snotty little princess will give it to us, just to make us stop." Icy said as she held out her Diamond of Isole. "Yes, let's have some fun and it won't matter if we destroy something." Darcy said with a bright smile as she took out her Tear of Achlys. Stormy crossed her arms in frustration. "It's not fair that you guys get to play with your new toys." The two sisters rolled their eyes. "O calm down Stormy. It's not like we can fully control these yet or boosts our powers by much, we still need Eldus to add his power to these to be completely invincible. Right now all we can do is force power into them and throw the power boost at our target." Icy said as she clutched her hand around her diamond. "Yea, that's why we needed to put some training in so we wouldn't accidently aim at ourselves. Now we know how to control it enough, to damage everything else besides ourselves." Darcy said with some pride.

"Fine, now that you two have such _powerful_ tools why don't you guys destroy this annoying barrier. I want MY gem NOW!" Stormy said as she stomped her foot. "Alright, alright keep your shirt on." Icy said as she rolled her eyes "Ready, Darcy?" "Ready Icy!" the two witches started to concentrate and after a short moment the weather started to change. It suddenly became very cold and dark; it felt like a huge snow storm quickly was approaching. Stormy was able to see that the fairies in the courtyard were looking up at the darkening sky, while looking very confused.

"DIAMOND ICICLE BARRAGE!" Stormy was surprised when Icy suddenly sent a huge energy blast at the clouds above. Then millions of tiny icicles rained down from the above and landed everywhere on the barrier. Once contact was made they started to freeze the area around them. "DARKENESS FREEZING TEAR!" Darcy exclaimed as she summoned dark looking rain. As it fell, it began to spread and helped the icicles freeze the barrier faster until the Alfea looked like it was surrounded in a frozen dome.

Stormy pouted as she saw how much more powerful her sisters had become. 'It's not fair… I want my power boost now!' "It's your turn Stormy." Icy said as the witch of storms looked at her in confusion. "What can I do? You two don't need my help." She said as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Well right now we can't use an attack of concentrated force. If anything we can bring down a single forced attack but there is no guarantee that we won't destroy the whole campus and your gem…" Darcy said with a shrug. "Don't destroy my gem! Fine I'll do it." Stormy said as she flew a little bit higher.

She started to charge up lightening in between her hands. "DARK LIGHTENING!" the witch exclaimed as she threw her lightening into the dark clouds that her sisters conjured up. After a few seconds, strong lightning started hitting the frozen barrier all at once. It hit with such force it shook the ground. Within seconds the barrier shattered into a mixture of large and small broken pieces. The fairies that were staring at the frozen shield began screaming and running as it broke apart and started raining down on them. Fear struck two groups of students when they saw large pieces about to fall on them; they stayed frozen in shock as they awaited the deadly impact.

"PROTECTION OF WAVES!" "SOLAR HALO!" Aisha and Stella arrived just in time to save the young fairies from a flattened fate. "Are you girls alright?" Aisha asked the group of girls behind her. "Yes, we're fine thanks to you Aisha." A young blue haired fairy responded. "How about you girls? All in one piece?" Stella asked as she looked behind her at the 4 young fairies. "Thank you Stella. We owe you our lives." A green eyed fairy responded, as everyone nodded their agreement. Stella and Aisha smiled at the group before looking around to see if there were any more fairies in danger or the reason for the barrier's destruction. They saw Flora and Musa flying around to see what had happened.

"Don't lower your guard Winx! The enemy is still near and waiting for their opportunity to strike." Headmistress Faragonda said as she stared towards the far end of the courtyard. The Winx looked where she was staring but they saw and heard nothing, just silence and some leaves blowing in the raging winds. Stella and Aisha turned to tell the young fairies to head inside the building for shelter.

But before they could get a word out, huge bolts of lightning suddenly came falling from the sky towards them. "Flora Watch out!" Musa exclaimed as a bolt was headed the nature fairy. Flora looked up to see the bolt coming towards her, but it was too close for her to get a chance to put up her shield. She closed her eyes and crossed her arms in front of her as she braced herself for impact.

After a few seconds she timidly looked up wondering why it hadn't hit her yet. To her surprise she saw Helia blocking the lightning with a shield. "Helia! You saved me!" "Of course! I couldn't stand by and watch my beloved girlfriend get hurt." Helia said as he lowered the shield after the lightening subsided. Flora gave him a sweet, quick kiss before they had to dodge yet another lightning bolt. Looking around they saw that everyone was having some trouble with the endless attacks from the dark sky.

"Aisha can you make a tunnel like barrier from here to the main entrance? We need to get all the inexperienced fairies to shelter." Faragonda said while blocking multiple bolts from multiple locations. "I can but I don't think it will last very long against these constant attacks. Right now I have to keep creating a new shield just to keep it from breaking." "That's fine we will cover you, just get the students to safety. Stella please assist her." Faragonda said. Stella nodded and turned to face Aisha. Aisha nodded and summoned a new shield, but it was already starting to crack from the large number of attacks it was receiving.

"Protection of Waves!" Aisha exclaimed as she made a long barrier from Stella's and her barrier leading into the main building. "Hurry everyone! I can't keep the lightening out for long!" the fairy of Tides was relieved when she saw the students running as fast as they could into the building, the students that Stella rescued had already made into the building. While the students that Aisha saved were only half way to the building, the shield that was protecting her started to break apart. 'It's going to give way…' Aisha thought as she tried to focus more power into her barrier. "Solar Halo!" the fairy of waves slightly turned to see Stella a bit above her with a large bright shield. With Stella's shield it cut the number of attacks by more than half. "Thanks Stella! That's a big help!" "No problem just let me know when your students are in the clear. It's pretty hard to keep this up for long, this storm is pretty strong." Suddenly hail started to fall with the lightening while the wind blew harder than it had before. "I won't let this storm win!" Stella exclaimed as she tried her best to hold out against it as the wind tried to blow her away.

They were slightly surprised to hear sinister laughter over the high winds. "I'm surprised that you are able to even stand up against our tempest, Princess Stella." Stormy snickered at the sun fairy who was barely holding up her shield as she and her sisters released their invisibility spell. "T-this is n-nothing…" Stella said with clenched teeth. "Then maybe we should add a bit more power." Icy said as she raised the hand that held her Diamond of Isole. The hail suddenly became stronger and heavier as they grew in size.

"Ahh!" Stella screamed when her barrier shattered and she was thrown against Aisha. Once her concentration was broken it only took one hit for Aisha's barrier to break. After the moment of shock faded Stella jumped up and looked around. "Aisha are you ok? What about the students?" Aisha groaned as she stood up next to her friend. "Ugh that hurt… but I'll be ok and don't worry about the students, right before you landed on me they all made it to the building." Aisha looked around and saw that everyone was having a hard time in dodging the endless attacks. "We need to think of something fast…" "Your right Aisha, but they have those artifacts boosting their powers and all we can do is dodge their attacks." Stella said as she dodged another lightning bolt.

"Ugh this is sooo boring." Stormy whined to her sisters. "Hmm…your right. How about we make things a bit more interesting? Let's use a convergence spell." Icy said with an evil grin "But we have to be careful not to hurt Stella too much or we might never know where she is keeping your artifact, Stormy." Darcy said. "It won't matter Darcy, since Stormy doesn't have an artifact yet her power will be lacking compared to us." Icy said with a snicker. "Humph, then that works out for us just fine then it won't kill Stella problem solved." Stormy said as she crossed her arms and slightly pouted. The sisters nodded and reached out to hold eat other's hands. "TRIX CONVERGENCE!"

From in between them their powers raced up to the awaiting clouds. Once they entered the clouds they became black as oil and just as thick. Suddenly large softball sized hail started to fall. Everyone was shocked at the size of them, but they did not expect what they would do as soon as they made contact with something.

Flora put up her shield at the same time that Helia held up his shield at the first hail, thinking it was only a large frozen snowball. They didn't expect it to have a lightening explosion as soon as it made contact. The blast was so strong it blew away the nature fairy's shield in an instant and sent the two of them flying. "Flora! Helia! Are you both ok?!" Musa asked as she rushed to her friend's side. As she approached she saw that Flora was starting to get up, but looked worried as she looked down at her unconscious boyfriend. "Helia? Helia! Please wake up!" Flora begged as tears began to form in her eyes. She looked up and saw Musa flying closer. "Musa… he protected me when my shield failed… he won't wake up…" Musa knelt beside Flora, looked down at the specialist and touched his chest. 'phew…his breathing seems regular…' "I think he will be alright Flora. It looks like he was just knocked out. Why don't you take him inside while we take care of the Trix." Flora nodded and gently levitated Helia and led him inside just in time to miss and raining of the exploding hail.

The Trix started laughing at the worried look on the Winx's faces as they dodged the seemingly endless and random bombs. "If you stupid fairies aren't careful you will explode into tiny little pieces!" Icy sneered. "But we are willing to stop it if Stella gives me the Gem of Lilith. Sounds like an easy trade, right princess?" Stormy said with cold humor on her face.

"How did they know I have the gem?" Stella asked as she just barely dodged an explosion. "I don't know but we can't let them have it." Aisha said as she threw an attack at a group of hail that was falling towards them, making them explode a safe distance away. "But if this continues then there won't be much of Alfea left." Musa said as she flew to join Stella and Aisha in their defense. "Don't worry too much about the building girls." Headmistress Faragonda said as she placed barrier after barrier to protect herself from the hail. "Just focus on protecting the fairies inside. We can always rebuild the school, but the students can't be." Aisha nodded and turned to Stella "We need backup. Call Tecna, maybe she and Daphne can come help…" the fairy of tides looked at the sight before her and just saw an endless rain of explosives. "o I just wish Bloom wasn't out training at a time like this." Aisha said. The sun fairy nodded and turned to get some shelter as she took out her phone and called the fairy of technology.

After a few rings, Tecna answered and appeared on the hologram. "Hey Stella, how is it going at Alfea?" "HORRIBLE! We need help Tecna!" Stella exclaimed as Musa and Aisha screamed behind her when an explosive blew debris at them. "What's happening, Stella?!" "Bloom?!" the sun fairy was shocked to see their leader appear on the hologram next to Tecna. "I thought you were training with your partn-" Stella was cut off when a huge explosion hit close behind her and made her drop her phone in shock. "Stella?!" The sun fairy heard her friend's worry over the phone. "I'm good!" She said quickly as she found her phone and picked it up. "Just dropped my phone." "Stella what's happening?" Bloom asked with a serious face. The blonde fairy gulped before answering "The Trix are attacking Alfea! We are trying our best to keep them at bay, but Darcy and Icy are using their artifacts. Its causing more damage than if they weren't using it…our barriers and shields keep breaking dow-" Stella was interrupted when another explosive hail landed close by. "Stella try using a convergence spell with all the fairies there to reinforce the barriers around Alfea while the Specialists hold them off until we get there." "Got it!" Stella said as she hung up the phone. "Well, now we have a plan to go on. The only thing is will we be able to pull it off…" Stella wondered as she flew as fast as she could to Aisha, Musa and the headmistress.

"Ok the good news is Bloom is back from her training and gave us a plan we can use, and it seems like a pretty good one. The not so good news is… I dunno if we can pull it off…" Stella said with some doubt in her eyes. "Well, what is it?" Musa said as she pushed the sun fairy out of the way of an explosion. "Thanks… she told us to try using a convergence spell with all the fairies here to reinforce the barriers around Alfea while the Specialists hold off the Trix. At least until they get here." Everyone looked at Stella in shock. "Doesn't she know how hard that is going to be." Musa whined "And how are we going to put up a barrier when the Trix are in the barrier's vicinity?" Aisha wondered.

"It will work girls." Headmistress Faragonda said with confidence. "It is a good plan." "But how will it work? Everyone will be too scared to properly focus and we will have to be fairly good sync in order for it to even work. And it won't do much good if the Trix are in the barrier." Aisha replied. "Easy… the barrier will be created in the same way that a bubble is made. Start out small and gradually put magic into it, allowing it to grow bigger and bigger. As it grows it will automatically allow the casters and those chosen to enter and force the Trix back. Everyone will just need to have the desire to protect each other." Faragonda said with a smile.

The three fairies hesitated for a moment but nodded "Ok it is worth the risk." Aisha said. "Let's get to work." "You girls go I will keep the Trix at bay." "Headmistress are you sure?" Musa asked, concerned. "I wasn't a member of the original Company of Light for nothing." She said as she blew away a large number of the explosive hail. The Winx were amazed for a moment before rushing into the building to get the fairies together.

They arrived to where Griselda was talking to the specialists about reinforcing the auditorium. "Brandon!" Stella exclaimed as she tackled her boyfriend in a hug. "Stella? What's going on? Did you defeat the Trix already?" "No we actually came here to try something." Musa said as she held onto Riven's hand for support. "Ms. Griselda we are going to try to do a convergence with all the fairies here to put up a strong enough growing barrier to repel the Trix." Aisha said. "Hmm… that sounds like a good plan but it will go better if you split into two groups. One will create basic barrier here because that will take a bit more time to start, and the second group should stay near the entrance and send their magic into the growing barrier to quickly expand it to the desired size." The Winx nodded in agreement. "Let's get started Stella you and Musa will take the more experienced students to the entrance and wait for the signal. I'll stay back here and start the barrier with the rest." Aisha ordered. "But will you be able to do that all on your own?" Musa asked. "I'll stay with you Aisha." They all turned to see Flora walking towards them. "Flora how's Helia?" Stella asked. "He'll be fine with some rest. But I want to help, I'll stay behind here with Aisha and help her." "Ok sounds like a plan. Let's get to it!" Aisha said and turned to address the students.

Within moments Stella and Musa were waiting by the entrance with about 20 students and the Specialists. They looked outside and saw that the headmistress was holding the Trix back well on her own, but it was noticeable that she was getting tired. "We need to go help her." Stella said before turning to the students and specialists. "Ok you guys wait here and give us a signal when the barrier gets close. We need to help Headmistress Faragonda." Stella said as she pointed to the Specialists, Musa and herself. "Now stay hidden until you need to give us the signal… in the meantime you guys should probably mediate and get ready to do the convergence." Everyone nodded as Musa, Stella and the Specialists ran out to face the Trix.

"Aww looks who's come back to join the party." Icy said as she spotted the Specialists behind the two Winx. "We've come to shut it down!" Riven yelled at the witch as they dodged the explosive hail. "O I don't think you have the power to do anything of the sort!" Darcy said with a giggle as they watched them jumping around frantically. "Are you ready to give up? All you have to do is give us the Gem of Lilith." Stormy said with glee. "We won't ever give up!" Stella exclaimed.

Musa managed to get close to the headmistress. "Headmistress Faragonda we are about to complete the barrier. Please start heading to the entrance you need to rest and I think the students need your support." Musa said as she protected them from flying debris. "Very well." The headmistress teleported to the entrance of the school and met up with the students. That was where she saw that Musa had a point, even though they were experienced they were still frightened. If they continued to have doubts, the barrier wouldn't be as strong. "Now ladies, I need you all to be strong we are the only chance our school has in defeating the Trix. The Winx can't do it on their own they need our help, and we are strong enough to give them that help. Just think of all your friends and how much you want to protect them, and then imagine the barrier being more than strong enough to protect all of them." Faragonda saw the shadows of doubt leaving her young students. She just nodded her approval and hoped they hurried in sending the barrier. She looked down the hall and was glad to see the barrier making its way towards them. "Finally!" She turned to the girls beside her and told 4 of the girls to go tell the Winx while she and the rest prepare.

"How much longer are they going to take to make that barrier…?" Stella asked herself as she threw her attacks at the Trix while flying around dodging the explosions. She glanced back at the entrance and saw a few of the young fairies waving at her. "Finally! Musa!" the fairy of music glanced back, saw the signal she looked towards the Specialists "Will you guys be ok for a bit?" "Don't worry about us. Codatorta trained us harder than this!" Riven exclaimed as he dodged a hail. Musa nodded and started to fly back to the entrance with Stella.

"Look they're running away again! And leaving their precious boyfriends behind!" Stormy said with a snicker. "Are they really running away?" Darcy asked as she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "What do you mean?" Icy asked "Look… they were signaled by those weak fairies." Darcy said as she pointed out the young fairies near the entrance. "Hmm…since Stella doesn't want to give up without a fight, why don't we give her a reason not to fight…" Icy said with a mischief dancing in her eyes. "How?" Stormy asked "We are going to take those young fairies as hostages. Go Darcy." Darcy nodded and made a clone that quickly faded into the shadows as it quickly flew down to the young girls waiting for Stella and Musa.

Stella and Musa were just about to reach the signaling students when a shadowy figure appearing behind them. They were shocked to see Darcy fully appear and send out a magical dark cage at the young fairies. "Dark Prison!" Darcy exclaimed as her dark powers rapidly crept to surround the girls. "WATCH OUT!" Stella and Musa yelled as they reached out for the scared girls. Stella was able to grab the closest girl to her by the hand. "Grab the others!" Stella yelled as she secured her grip and started to pull with all her might. The dark cage had the young girls mostly caught so it was fighting with Stella for the claim of them. Musa saw Stella having trouble and started to pull with her.

As the tug-o-war continued the fairies then sensed the barrier suddenly getting stronger and its growing speed increased. They glanced back and saw the barrier gently but fiercely phase past them and pushed back the dark cage and Darcy with it. Since the barrier suddenly forced back Darcy's dark powers; Stella, Musa and two of the young girls fell backwards. "What happened? I thought the barrier would've protected the other two girls as well." The pink haired fairy that Stella grabbed first said. "Darcy's powers must've concealed their fairy magic from the barrier. Since you guys were fairly out of the cage the barrier protected you." Stella said as she and Musa protectively stood in front of the two girls.

"I'm sorry I lost my grip. It's my fault they were caught." The girl with hazel eyes cried while she hugged the pink haired one. The fairy of Music knelt down and patted the young fairy on the head. "It's ok. It wasn't your fault, and don't worry we will get them back." Musa said with confidence in her voice. "Musa's right leave it to us. In the meantime you two get inside and inform Headmistress Faragonda." They two girls nodded and ran inside to look for the headmistress, as the Specialists arrived to stand beside Musa and Stella.

Once they had found Faragonda they rejoined the other girls who were heading back to where the rest of the school was hiding out. 'Stella and Musa won't be able to fight the power boosted Trix for very long. How much longer until Bloom and Tecna arrive?' The headmistress turned and prepared herself for a fight when a portal suddenly opened up before her. But she relaxed when she saw Tecna step through instead of an enemy, but was a bit concerned when she did not see the red-haired leader. "You are just in time Tecna, but where is Bloom?" "Eldus showed up at Domino Castle she had no choice but to face him now. What is going on here?" Tecna said as she looked around the damaged building. "Well, we just put up the barrier that Bloom suggested but unfortunately the Trix is holding two students hostage. Stella and Musa are trying to get them back." "Where are Flora and Aisha?" Tecna asked concerned "They should be on their way back, they had to start the barrier while we were supposed to finish it, but since Musa and Stella were detained I managed to complete it on my own with the students, but I will need to stay here in order to maintain it." Tecna nodded and turned when she heard her name.

"Tecna you're here!" Aisha exclaimed as she gave her friend a quick hug. "But where is Bloom?" Flora asked. "She had to face Eldus on Domino." "Won't she need help?" Aisha asked slightly worried. "I'm sure she will be fine. It seems that she somehow trained a year with her sacred partner even though she was only gone a night. But now we have to just worry about the Trix and protecting Alfea." Tecna said with a stern face. Her friends nodded and flew out together to face the Trix with Musa, Stella, and the Specialists.

They arrived just in time to hear the Trix's demands: "Now Stella if you want your beloved students to be set free all you have to do is give me MY Gem of Lilith. Easy." Stormy said with a smug grin. "If not… well let's just say they won't ever see the light of the day again." Stormy said as Darcy started to slowly make the prison smaller and darker. "No! STOP!" Stella yelled as she heard the frightened screams of the young girls. "Don't hurt them!" "Well you know what will stop their pain." Stormy said with a laugh. "But you better hurry. My Dark Prison likes to steal fairy magic until it is all drained." Stella slightly bowed her head "…ok-"

"No Stella! We need to think this through." Aisha said as she placed a hand on the sun fairy's shoulder. "But what can we do? If we fight they will face the consequences, there is no way for us to reach them in time, we won't be fast enough." Stella said slightly panicked. "Tecna can you think of anything?" Musa said hopefully. Tecna took out her little device and started to crunch some numbers into it with Timmy's help. After a short moment the fairy of technology and the specialist paused and had looked slightly defeated. "We can't find a solution where we are successful while assuring the safety of the girls…" Tecna said with sadness in her eyes. "Are you sure?" Aisha asked. Tecna nodded "If Bloom was here it would be possible to use her dragon fire to give us the necessary speed boost to cover the distance is such a short amount of time." Timmy started "But with our powers alone it would take up too much time and it will end in failure." Tecna finished. "So I guess the only safe way is to give them the Gem of Lilith…" Stella said with defeat in her eyes. Everyone around her just reflected her eyes and slightly nodded.

"Well? Have you chosen the _right_ answer yet?" Icy asked with a cold chuckle. Stella glared at her and stepped forward with Brandon close by for support. "You win this time Trix. We will agree to your terms but you have to promise to let the girls go!" "Sure." Stormy said with a shrug "…we have no use for them." Stella nodded and used her powers to summon the Gem of Lilith from where she had it magically hidden. It slowly appeared in her hands as it let a few sparks fly. Once in her hand Stella looked back to her friends, hesitant in giving the Gem to the Trix. She saw that everyone felt the same way she did: giving the Trix the Gem will most likely be catastrophic and apocalyptic, but they couldn't sacrifice innocent lives to prevent it. Stella looked back at the weakening fairies and began to fly up to make the exchange with the Trix.

Once Stella was at arm's length of the fairy barrier she saw that Stormy got just as close. The witch smiled wickedly and held out her hand. "Be a good little fairy and hand over my gem." Stella began to reach out, but slightly hesitated. "O I guess you don't care what happens to those fairies." Stormy said as Darcy tightened and darkened the prison. "NO! Here! But you need to let them go at the same time I give this to you. Deal?" Stella said as she held out the Gem just a hair's length from the barrier. "Fine." Darcy loosened the prison at that. "Now give it to me." Stormy said with greed in her eyes.

Stella took a deep breath and let her hand pass through the barrier and reluctantly dropped the Gem of Lilith in Stormy's outreached hand. Once the witch had it in her hands she held it up in pure joy. "Finally! It's mine! Now we can get our unlimited powers!" She cheered and bounced around in glee. "Stormy keep your promise! Release the girls!" Stormy glanced at Stella with indifferent eyes. The Sun fairy grew concerned that the witch would go back on her word. Instead the witch just scoffed and turned to Darcy. "Let them go." She gave her sister a wink which made Darcy and Icy smile evilly. "Sureee." At that moment the witch of Darkness released her prison and dropped the young fairies at the 30 feet drop, to fall to their dooms. "NO!" Everyone exclaimed as they saw the fairies plummet to earth. "That wasn't part of the deal!" "What are you talking about?" Stormy said with a cold smile. "The deal was that I would _let them go_, I never said I would gently place them on the ground." The storm witch laughed as Stella stared daggers at her.

Aisha was the first one to act, she speed forward while hoping that they would be strong enough to transform into their wings. 'Dam that Dark Prison must've drained too much of their energy… I hope I make it in time they are still a good few feet away…here goes nothing…' "MORPHIX NET!" Aisha threw her power out and stretched out a large soft net for the girls to fall in. Thankfully Aisha made it time and the girls landed safely in the net. Unfortunately, they were out of the barrier's protection and exposed to the Trix. Aisha looked up and saw that was exactly what Icy wanted. She saw the witch preparing her Icicle Rampage at Aisha. "Dam." Aisha muttered under her breath as she raced to the unconscious students while avoiding the oncoming ice attacks. Once she reached the students she looked up and saw Icy was aiming for them with a large energy blast. "Protection of Waves!" It took all she had to hold up her shield against Icy's boosted attack. 'I don't know how much longer I can keep this up…let alone get the students to safety…'

"Solar Halo!" "Digital Room!" Aisha looked up and saw that Stella and Tecna came to her aide. "Thanks girls." "No problem I should've known that the Trix would think of something as sinister as this." "No one could've properly calculated that act Stella. But now we must formulate a plan to get the students to safety without sustaining damage to ourselves." Tecna said. "Any ideas are welcomed." Aisha said as Darcy and Stormy joined in the attack with their sister. "How are we going to keep our shields up while moving fast? It's hard enough to keep our shields up standing still let alone moving." Stella said through gritted teeth.

"I have an idea. Aisha, can you pull four people on your net while keeping up your speed?" Tecna asked "Sure no problem! I can go faster if I stick to a straight line instead of weaving." "Good. Stella and I will get on the net with the students and Aisha you just fly as fast as you can back to the barrier we will cover you." Aisha nodded. "Sounds like the best plan, let's do it. Hurry!" Stella and Tecna jumped on the net while keeping their shields up, once on the net they did their best to make their shields bigger and stronger to cover both them and Aisha. "Ready?" Aisha asked "Ready!" The two said in unison "Ok hang on tight!" Aisha said as she released her shield and pushed her wings as fast as they could go back to the fairy barrier.

The Trix saw what they were doing and decided to attack harder. They smiled when they saw that their shields were starting to crack. "How much farther Aisha? They are breaking through!" Stella said "Just a few more seconds!" The shields shattered in the exact moment that they phased back into the barrier's protection. "Aisha!" "Stella!" "Tecna!" Roy, Brandon, and Timmy exclaimed when they saw their girlfriends on the ground, once Aisha released her Morphix Net, breathing heavily. "Are you guys alright?" Roy asked as he helped Aisha on her feet. "Yea… were ok…" Stella responded in between breaths. "Just a bit worn out." Tecna said as she held onto Timmy's arm for support.

"Wow. I'm impressed you made it." Icy said with a chuckle. "But you won't make it the next time." She said with such a cold stare that it sent chills down their spines. "Sisters it's time for the next step of the plan." Darcy and Stormy nodded as Stormy held out her hands. Icy and Darcy handed their artifacts over to their sister who then opened up a portal and began to step through it. "Don't finish them off without me!" Stormy said with a smile as the portal closed up behind her.

"Where is she running off to?" Musa yelled at Icy and Darcy. "No where special. Just to Domino…" the sisters started to laugh "…to meet Eldus who is currently finishing off the King and Queen."


	43. Chapter 42: Break Free

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just Glaedr, Eldus, Glyde, Akria and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I am sooo sorry that it took me this long to post. i will try to do better to finally finish it lolz _

_Just to let you all know so there is no confusion: this chapter will mostly be the POV of Cari. So it will mostly be thoughts and dialogue. If it is too confusing please let me know and I will make some changes. ;-) _

_Now, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

**' ****_Thinking to oneself_****'****  
****" ****Talking ****"**

* * *

**Chapter 42  
****Break Free**

'_Hmm… where am I? … why can't I move?... I feel like I'm floating in jello…_' It took everything the small child had to slowly and only slightly open her eyes. She looked above her and saw only darkness, she tried to turn her head and found that she could only move a few inches, but even then she saw that she was surrounded by only darkness. '_It looks scary in here, but I wonder why I don't really feel scared…I-I don't feel anything… how did I get here? Why can't I remember?..._' Cari closed her eyes and tried to think back. '…_The last thing I remember is…Eldus giving me a pretty flower…he put it in my hair, then… and then… nothing… I woke up here… I still don't know what happened… I don't know what to do…but… I'm kinda sleepy though…_'

Just when the child started to fall asleep she started to hear whispers in the distance. '_Hmm?... who's there?..._' She tried her best to make clear of the voices. '_It sounds familiar… whose voice is that? ... wait I think I know that voice… but I'm not sure…I want to get closer… but I can't…sigh… what's the point…_'

"Will yourself free…you can do it!…fight!…" a soft, unknown voice rang in the small girl's ears, it was so soft and faded that she thought she imagined it. '_I don't know that voice…but I have a feeling that I can trust it… so I just need to fight, right?…_'

The small girl started to struggle her hardest in attempts to get closer to the voices. The more she struggled the clearer she started to hear the voices. She kept struggling even after she was able to hear the voices clearly.

"Hmm… you look familiar… I think I might have cursed to death an ancestor of yours… oo how fun, I get to curse the same bloodline twice!" '_That sounds like…Eldus…_' "My dear, please hold on to my pants for now. I need both hands for this little trick." '_Hey…I can feel my hand now…I just gabbed something…_' "Thank you my dear. Now… Do enjoy the pain and sorrow and may you meet your death slowly!"

"What the! ... J-Jeanne? How? I thought I would never see you again…" '_What happened? Who's Jeanne?_'' "Eldus! How dare you return here!" '_Wait this voice…I know this voice… I love this voice…I-I want to see this person… how can I see?... where are my eyes…wait I can feel my hands now… my hands can find my eyes… I just need to reach up and find my eyes…_' "Well, well, well, look who has returned from her short training venture. I thought I wouldn't see you until after I had destroyed your family." '_Yes! I can feel my eyes… it's hard to rub them… but I can see a blurry picture now…_' "Here you are my dear." '_No! I was just beginning to see…now this cloth is blocking everything… wait I can see the cloth now…I just need to… lower my arm…come on stop rubbing my eyes and let me see!…_'

"Don't you touch her! Give Cari back to me, NOW! Give me back my daughter!" '_Daughter? Me?... wait… I remember now… that voice… is my mother's_…_it's Bloom's!_' "The girl came to me of her own free will… now she is mine, but don't worry she won't recognize you even if you called out to her…" '_That's right she said she didn't want me…but… I-I still want to be with her…I-I still want to run to her…I want her to hold me…_' the small child did her best to reach out towards the voice that she loved so much. She kept trying to find her voice. '_I want to call out… voice… call out! … B-_' "B-Bloom…?"

'_Yes! I can feel my hand… reach out!_' Cari concentrated until she could feel her small hand release the fabric she had in her left hand and reach out in front of her. "Not so fast, my dear." '_Wait…what is happening? My head feels really heavy…ugh…I can't focus… no I finally got to see her…no…_' Cari looked up at the image she saw of Bloom for a quick moment before everything went black…

"Cari…Wake up…" '_Hmm… it's that strange voice again…did I fall asleep again…?...i feel a nice breeze…_' the small child slowly opened her eyes and saw a bright blue sky above her. She looked around and found that she was in Rosie's garden, she even saw Rosie watering her flowers a few feet away. '_Was everything just a dream?... I'm glad…I should apologize to Rosie for falling asleep while we were playing… but I'm still sleepy… just a few more minutes…_'

"There you are Princess Cari. I have been looking for you everywhere, you missed lunch with the royal family." A deep voice said to her while she had her eyes closed and drifting between dreamland and consciousness. '_Me, a princess?... since when?_' "Why hello Master Eldus. How are you?" "Hello young Rosie. Your flowers are blooming nicely I see, it must be all the loving attention you give them." "Why thank you. Would you like to take one?" "I'm afraid it will look awkward on me, but I think it will suit the young princess much better." "Oo yes I agree. And I apologize for not notifying the royal family that Princess Cari fell asleep. She just looked so tired, I felt it a shame to wake her or leave her alone." Rosie said affectionately. "I am glad you didn't. She has been staying up late with her studies, I'm glad she is finally catching up on her sleep. But it would be better to take her to her room. Now if you would excuse me, young Rosie." "Yes, of course. Please tell the princess that I will see her tomorrow."

After some silence Cari felt strong hands gently lift her and start carrying her. After a long walk she felt the strong hands slowly lower her on a soft and comfy bed, then cover her in a blanket. She was a bit surprised when she felt him gently patting her head. "Forget all your past worries and nightmares. Just sleep well and deeply, Princess." His stern yet calm voice felt a bit like a spell as she started to feel even more drained than before. She then heard the door close followed by calm silence. '_I guess I will just sleep… I will just forget about that scary dream… when I wake up that scary experience will be a long lost memory… I can't wait to see my parents…but why do I feel that something important is happening now…_' Cari started to slowly fall into a deep, confusing sleep.

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP CALIDA CARI! DON'T YOU DARE LOCK US INTO THIS TRAP!" '_W-what? Who?_' _Leave me alone_…' Cari just ignored. But anger welled up inside her when she was suddenly being violently shaken, while still being yelled at. Cari got so mad that her eyes no longer felt heavy, and forced them wide open. "What is YOUR PROBLEM?! Cant you see that I am trying to get some sleep here?!" "And can't you see that I'm trying to save us from this eternal lie?! Don't you want to return to the real world? To Bloom?!" '_the real world?_'' That confusion calmed Cari down enough to take a moment and think. When her eyes fully focused on who was so close to her, still yelling and shaking her; she was surprised to say the least.

She looked to be a few years older than Cari. But what surprised Cari was this girl's mesmerizing eyes. Her irises were the beautiful color of medium purple with some dark blue slightly stretching out around the pupil. Once this mysterious girl saw that Cari was awake she let her go and took a slight step back and smiled. "Thank goodness! You seem fully awake now. I'm sorry I was a bit rough with you." Cari was still taking in this cute, mysterious young girl in front of her.

Now that the girl wasn't in her face, Cari was able to see that she was wearing sandals and a beautiful kimono, but it was not the length of a formal kimono. It was shorter, a little past her knees, looking like it would be easy to run around in if she wanted to. It was light purple kimono with a beautiful violet dragon with sliver outline and details, flying upwards from the bottom of the kimono, the dragon's full face was visible as its head rested on the girl's left shoulder. It was interesting that it had one medium purple eye, and one dark blue eye. The dragon was holding a bushel of saffron in its claws. The beautiful purple and white flowers were gracefully falling out of the dragon's claws, but it was odd that they all had small dark blue centers. The thin light red obi wrapped around the girl's waist had delicate white and blue flames along the base of it. She had short light purple hair that were pulled up into two high pigtails on her head. There was a single dark blue highlight on the left side of her head. And her bangs just barely touch her eyebrows on her cute, round, smiling face.

"Hey are you really awake? You're just sitting there staring at me." The mysterious girl asked as she waved her hand in front of Cari. "I'm awake. You made sure of that." Cari said as she pushed the girl's hand away. "Good. We would've been in trouble if you really did fall asleep." The girl said as she danced around the room '_What is with this girl. She acts like she knows me. But at least it seems that she won't hurt me'_ "Alright now let's gets a move on before anyone comes in here to distract you again." "Oookk…umm… who are you? Why won't you let me sleep? What's with all this 'WE' stuff? And where are _we_ going? I'm already where I am supposed to be. I'm happy here." Cari said in a calm tone.

"Oo yea! Sorry I got too excited that I finally meet you face to face that I forgot to introduce myself." She hopped back in front of Cari and quickly spun on her heels and then did a little curtsy as she turned to faced Cari. "Hello young Cari, Daughter of Crown Prince Sky and Sacred Guardian Princess Bloom, I am Akira. I am your dragon partner. I hope we do get along now and in the future. And are you sure you belong here? Are you sure this is real happiness? You must think back and remember." Akira looked up and smiled at the shocked Cari.

"What do you mean? Of course I am sure. This is domino castle, my parents are Sky and Bloom, Rosie is my friend and Eldus my protector. This is my room, this is my home, this is where I belong…everything before was just a nightmare… Right?" "No that nightmare, as you call it, was the reality. This world right now is the nightmare, we must return to reality as soon as possible." Cari slowly shook her head "No, you're lying! Here we are a family, I am wanted, and I have a home. There I was going to be sent away, Bloom didn't want me, only Eldus did…only Eldus was my friend…" Akira stood up straight and gave her a pitiful look. She then waved her hand above her head and two projections appeared. In one, Cari saw Bloom staring at her from a distance as King Oritel ran back into the castle while holding his unconscious queen. Cari was shocked to see what was on the second projection. It was Eldus taking her hand and Cari saw and felt him sucking the power out of her. She tensed and clutched her hand when she felt the sharp pain of her energy being forcefully sucked out of her.

"I-I thought he was my friend. Why is he hurting me? How are you able to see the outside so easily when it took me so much effort earlier?" Cari said as the pain made her remember her struggles from earlier. "He was never your friend. He only wanted to use you against Bloom. So he placed a spell on that flower he gave you to make you do his bidding. But you have to thank your family for doing their best to remove the spell, it was almost fully released. If it wasn't for them I would've been fully locked up in that gloomy dungeon with such rude company, and you trapped in this fake world forever. Now we have more freedom of your body, not full control but it is possible for us to break free now. It would be easier if there was magic fluctuation." Akira looked up at the screen and looked affectionately at Bloom and Sky on the screen. "They are the ones who truly care for you, not Eldus. See how much they are fighting to free you, if they didn't care for you they wouldn't care and just focus on getting to Eldus." Cari took a long pause as she heard the words exchanged between Eldus and Bloom.

" said that you're my dragon partner? Like Bloom's?" the humanoid dragon crossed her arms and thought about that "Hmm…well not exactly… he lives outside of Bloom's body, but their souls _are_ connected so they can communicate and reach each other no matter where they are. I, on the other hand, live within you I don't think I can fully leave your body... well… at least not yet." The purple eyed girl held her hands behind her as she leaned a bit forward and smiled sweetly at Cari. "Since we were born of the same energy force we currently need each other to exist." "What do you mean currently?"

"Well, first I should tell you that we have many seals placed on us. Without those seals then our power might go haywire and destroy a large portion of our world. So until those seals are removed we cannot fully separate. If we do than we will not be able to control the consequences that will happen. In simple terms we keep each other in check. As you grow and mature I will release some of the smaller seals, and as we grow as a whole, Glaedr will release the bigger seals one at a time." "Wait why do I need so many seals?" "Well, I think it will be easier if I explain how we came to be: we were born of Sky's pure energy with some life force _AND_ Bloom's raw and slightly unstable dragon flame. Those two things merging together is a dangerous mixture if not regulated properly by another force. Normally those two forces coming together would cause in a huge explosion resulting in a mini black hole, especially since the dragon flame itself is such a large inextinguishable power and since it came from Bloom it was even stronger than normal." "I still don't get it…if it was so strong why didn't it explode?" the girl giggled. "The other force kept it in stable of course… love." Akira answered the question that Cari didn't say out loud. "The strong love that Sky and Bloom have for each other, kept the powers from exploding until it reached Glaedr."

"Who is Glaedr?" "That is the name of the great scared dragon. Bloom's sacred partner." "Oo… why does he have a say in the seals?" "Why he placed them of course! And he was the one who gave us our life. The one who allowed us to find our own path instead of becoming part of the universe." "What do you mean?" "Well, originally when a power is taken out of a magical being or a magical being dies the power kinda evaporates and becomes one with the universe or goes back to the original source until if finds a new host or destiny. We were supposed to go back to Glaedr, the creator of the dragon flame." Akira saw that Cari was hurt by this. "So you mean that I wasn't supposed to be born. T-that I shouldn't even exist…" Cari's eyes filled with tears as she felt her heart start to break even more than before. She placed her hands over her eyes as her tears flowed.

"No, you're wrong Cari…" Cari felt warm gentle hands grab her and looked up to see Akira's sweet gentle smile. "How?" "Sure we weren't born in the traditional sense, but we were born like everyone else. From our parent's love for each other and for us. And besides it doesn't matter how anyone is born, it's what you do with the gift of life that truly matters." Cari looked up at the projections and saw one of the nice fairies she met at Eldus' castle. She was shocked to see her change into the girl who tried to hurt Bloom and Winx in the dark forest. She was shocked to see that she changed into Stormy. "Now tell me Calida Cari… my partner… what are we going to do with our life?"

* * *

Bloom and Sky threw attack after attack at the storm witch. "Well, this little battle won't last very long, you're outnumbered Stormy. You might as well surrender now and you won't get that hurt." Bloom yelled at the persistent witch. "I don't need to win right now. Just stall long enough for Eldus to finish his spell." Stormy said in between breathes. '_We would've finished her sooner but she keeps getting in front of Cari. If Stormy dodges then we will hit Cari, and I can't let that happen…_'

"Now what Bloom?" Sky asked. Bloom looked around before answering. '_So much destruction in just the short amount of time… we need to move away from here…maybe with a bigger battleground the farther Stormy will be forced away from Cari_…' "I'm going to try to move us to a safer area… it will be better if I fight without holding back and defending the castle." "How are you going to do that?" Sky asked while still on the defensive. "By asking my sacred partner for some help." Bloom said with a smirk.

Bloom concentrated and reached out to the ancient dragon. '_Glaedr … can you hear me?'_' 'Yes, Bloom I can hear you. I was wondering when you were going to call upon me.' '_Sorry. I needed to accomplish something first before the real battle took place. Are you ready?'_' 'Of course. What is your plan?' '_I need to change the battle ground. Can you teleport all of us?_' 'That is easy enough. Any place in particular where you would like to go?' Bloom thought about that for a moment, before the perfect place struck her. '_The place where this all began._' 'Very well. Shall we begin?' '_Yes, ready when you are_.' 'Good, call out my name and I shall appear.' Bloom nodded.

"Come to my side! My sacred Dragon Partner! Glaedr!" Fire burst from all around Bloom. The heat surrounding her was so strong that Sky had to take a step back and Eldus was able to feel it from where he stood. He was memorized as he saw Bloom's hair and body becoming one with the mighty red and yellow flames and looking more and more like the Queen from long ago. 'Hmm… so the great Glaedr is coming out to play… excellent… now he can watch _this_ guardian die just as his precious Jeanne did…'

Sky was surprised when he saw and felt all the power coming out of Bloom in that moment. His surprise grew to shock when he saw the faint outline of a large dragon curl around his beloved, sending out large energy pulses, and then suddenly expanding to surround everyone on the lawn. Such a bright light blinded everyone that they all had to shield their eyes. When they opened them again, they saw that they were no longer at Domino Castle's lawn. "Bloom where are we?" Sky asked as he tentatively stepped toward her. "We teleported to the Dark Forest, now we can finish this fight one way or another. But first things first, we need to get rid of Stormy." Sky nodded and prepared to resume the fight when suddenly a large fiery energy blast hit the storm witch from behind and sent her flying deep into the forest, unconscious.

Bloom and Sky were so shocked, they had no idea what just happened. When they looked to Eldus they saw he was just as shocked. They followed his shocked gaze and saw that Cari was glowing light orange and was pulling the light grey flower out of her hair and stepping on it. She then looked up to Eldus and threw another fire blast at him which sent him flying a few feet and stumbled on the ground violently. "You shouldn't trick kids!" The child said with angry eyes.

Bloom and Sky had no idea what to feel. Relief, concern, or pride to see that their little girl was free of Eldus' grasp and sent him flying. But right now the biggest thing they were feeling was shock. Because the longer they looked at the child the more her orange glow started to make an outline of a pair of fairy wings.


	44. Chapter 43: Beginning of the End

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus, Glyde, Akria and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I'm so sorryyy for taking so long to post… I kinda got addicted to playing pokemon Go! Lol but I did not forget about this story… though it is getting harder to finish… not because I'm getting bored with it… but because it's getting harder to make the ending as perfect as I imagine it. _

_Well anyway, please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' _**Thinking to oneself**_'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 43  
****Beginning of the End**

Bloom and Sky had no idea what to feel. Relief, concern, or pride to see that their little girl was free of Eldus' grasp and sent him flying. But right now the biggest thing they were feeling was shock. Because the longer they looked at the child the more her orange glow started to make an outline of a pair of fairy wings.

Cari flew as fast as she could to her parent's stunned, open arms. "Bloom! Sky!" She exclaimed as she felt their warm arms squeeze her tight. "I'm Sorry! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me! I shouldn't have run away!" Cari cried. "Oo Sweetie! I should be asking _your_ forgiveness! I'm Sorry that you thought that I didn't want you! I – _We_ do want you… So much… I was just scared…" Bloom said as silent tears fell down her face onto the young girl's head. The young girl leaned back a bit to look at Bloom's smiling but teared face. "Scared of what? Me?" Bloom shook her head a few times at the young girl's worried expression. "No, not you. Of course not you. I was scared that I couldn't be the parent that you deserve. That I couldn't properly be there to see you grow into a wonderful and beautiful young lady and fairy." Cari smiled. "Then we can help each other because I don't really know how to be a daughter either. We can learn together! Right?" The young girl said as she looked to Sky with a confident smile. Bloom and Sky looked at each other and knew that they didn't have the heart to tell this innocent child what Bloom really meant. "Y-yea, your right Cari!" the crown prince said confidently. "We will grow together as a family. One way or another." He agreed with a determined smile.

"Aww what a touching family reunion… It's utterly repulsive!" Eldus said as he slowly stood up from where he was blasted and glared at the family. "I don't know how you got out of my spell young Cari, but you will surely wish that you stayed there!" "Reality is way better than any dream anytime!" Cari yelled back as she floated in front of her parents. "Fantasy is always better than the cold, cruel world of reality." Eldus said barely audible while he slightly bowed his head so his face was clouded over. "You could've been happy where I sent you and I would have released you one day… but now… I will make sure you say in a permanent dream land! BLIND PAIN!" Eldus threw a dark curse at the family before him.

"CARI!" Bloom and Sky yelled; as Bloom stood in front of them and Sky pushed the child behind them. "RED DRAGON ORB!" "That orb won't keep you safe for very long! BLACK DESTRUCTION!" "Ngh…Sky I can't keep defending… I think it will be better if I transport you two back to the castle. I need to fight without any distractions." Bloom said as she glared at the dark sorcerer. "No! I will not leave you! We will fight together!" Bloom looked back at him with kind loving eyes. "Sky… I don't know… it's my destiny to fight him, not yours… you still have many things to accomplish including protecting our child…" Bloom and Sky both looked down at the tiny girl clutching Sky's cape looking determined but with fear shining in her eyes. They looked at each other and were conflicted… they had to choose between both possibly not returning or just one… which would be better for Cari?

"I can… f-fight…" the couple looked down, shocked at Cari. "Absolutely NOT!" They both said at the same time. Cari looked up with determination gleaming in her eyes. "I can fight! I can help! I won't run away!" "No Cari. Sky or I can't be worrying about you being alone in battle…once the fight really starts it will be hard for me to keep an eye on you…" Bloom said as she tried her best to hold back another blast from Eldus. "But I won't be alone! Akira will be with me!" The couple looked at the child with confusion. "I have a dragon just like you do Bloom!"

'_Glaedr explain!_' Bloom internally asked her sacred dragon partner. '_She is correct, Bloom. When she was created, the power was so great that it was needed to be divided into more than one entity. Similar to us: as we are two separate beings, but even separated our power is one. The only difference is that presently they cannot be separated from each other.' 'Why?' 'That is for another time… now your opponent is attempting to use the artifacts._' Bloom focused and saw Eldus still focused on breaking Bloom's barrier, but the artifacts were glowing darker by the minute. "Can she defend herself against Eldus?" Bloom meant to ask internally but came out for Sky and Cari to hear anyway. '_Those two might be able to hold out against one or two attacks, but not more than that. I recommend if you do decide to keep them here they stay in the shadows and be more of an alarm to oncoming attacks._' Bloom nodded and took a second to think.

"Bloom, I can fight… I can protect myself from him… I don't want to run away and be protected anymore I want to fight him… I want to fight for us to go home together…Akria will help me with my spells." Cari said without fear. "Bloom…" Sky said uncertainly. Bloom sighed. "Fine you can stay, but we will make it seem that you were sent away. You will stay out of sight and your magic cloaked. Can you two do that?" Cari took a moment then nodded after a few seconds discussion with Akira. "Alright. Now the first thing we need to do is get the artifacts back. We won't win if he still has them." Bloom said to Sky. "I can get them if you can distract him?" he asked his fiancé. Before Bloom could respond she was interrupted "I'll get them!" Before the couple could dismiss her she continued "If you are going to pretend to send me away you will actually have to send me toward the trees right? Might as well be the trees behind him then I will just sneak up and grab them. He won't notice if he is fighting both of you at the same time." "No." "But Bloom…" "I said NO Cari. Ask again and I really will send you back to the castle."

Sky just patted the disappointed and pouting girl on the head as he stood up to stand next to his fiancé. "So what is the plan?" Sky asked as he defensively held his sword. "As soon as I send Cari to the Tree line, can you run behind him as I distract him?" "I will try to go as fast as I can." Sky said as he prepared to run. '_Bloom… she might have a point…_' Gleadr mentioned '_No!… it's too risky…' 'Isn't your current plan far more dangerous?' 'How?' 'Well, if your beloved runs and you fail to distract Eldus. He will perish, Eldus will curse him to death without a second thought while you and Calida Cari watch hopelessly_.' Gleadr felt the strong piercing pain that ran in Bloom's heart as that thought crossed her mind. '_I do not wish for you to feel that pain of losing your true love.' 'But I love Cari too. How can risking her life be safer?' 'Eldus will still desire her for her powers. He will not harm her, if anything he will try to hold her hostage again. The only difference now is Akira has awaken so she will not fall under the same spell. I believe this is the best course of action_.' '_But she is so young…' 'All of you are young to me, and I do not wish to see any more tragic deaths. Sky will die if he fails or is too close, Cari will be taken but not harmed. If that does happen we will just steal her back._' Bloom bit her lip as she was torn. Gleadr had a point she couldn't see Sky killed before her, but how could she stand to send her precious Cari into the lion's den alone. '_She won't be alone. Akira will be with her, she may be young but she has inherited my wisdom. She will guide Cari well_.' Bloom took a deep breath and nodded. She glanced behind her at the still disappointed girl and readied Prince. "Change of plans…we will go with Cari's plan…"

"Wait what?" Sky said in total shock. "But Bloom she is too young to fight like that." "I know but that is the best plan we can go with. If I fail you could die at Eldus' hands and I will be too far to do anything about it. If Cari goes it will be safer, if she fails Eldus will just hold her hostage since he still wants her." "But Bloom!" "Ngh…" Bloom moaned as another attack was sent against her barrier. "We don't have time to argue Sky! Eldus is throwing everything he has at us now… and I need as much power I have to take him down!" Sky hesitated "I can do it Sky!" he looked down at the excited and determined girl. He sighed heavily. "Ugh fine. We will distract him and you grab the artifacts. But if you see that it is impossible then you will just stay hidden in the forest. OK?" Sky said as he stared at the child. "Deal." The child said with a curt nod. "I just wish we could have a good vantage view of the area. We don't know the layout to this place we could be at a disadvantage." Sky said mostly to himself. Just then Cari started to giggle a bit. "What? … oo Glyde! You stayed with me the whole time?" Cari said as a little bat snuggled out from her shirt and kissed her cheek. "What is that?" Sky asked in shock that it came out from behind the child. "He's my new friend. Hey he can fly and tell us about the area!" "Umm… I don't think a bat can talk…" Sky said. "We can use him." Bloom said. "How?" "You understand him right Cari?" The girl nodded while still hugging the tiny bat. "Just give him and Cari an ear piece, Sky. Cari will translate and tell us what he sees. We need every advantage we can get." Sky just nodded and did as he was told.

"Alright ready? We need to make this look good." "Ready." Cari and Sky said behind her. Bloom nodded and forced her magic into her barrier making it burst against Eldus' attack. She caught Eldus off guard with her sudden burst of power and cancelled out his attack. When he raised his arms over his face to cover from the aftershock of the blast, Bloom took the chance to turn around and cast her transportation spell on Cari. "Bloom watch out!" Sky yelled as he jumped in front of her and blocked away an attack from the dark sorcerer. "You think that little energy burst was enough to harm me?" Eldus said in a cold tone. "It wasn't supposed to hurt you Eldus. It was just supposed to distract you." The sorcerer looked down and saw that Cari had disappeared. "Humph… I see you sent away young Calida Cari. No matter, I will get my hands on her soon enough. All I have to do is dispose of her overprotective parents and all of Domino." He said with a chilling smile. Bloom scowled at him and smirked. "Then all we have to do to protect her is dispose of _you_. Easy enough."

In that moment, Bloom and Sky both took off with alarming speed in opposite directions to surround Eldus. At the same time they each threw an attack. "VOLCANIC ATTACK!" "DRAGON'S STRIKE!" Sky kept running after he swung his sword down and threw his attack while Bloom stayed where she was and tried to add more power to attack she just sent. She was hopeful that she will land some damage to Eldus since his back was turned to her. "I do not believe that your bluff will hold true at all, young dragon guardian." The dark cloaked man said with a smirk as he swatted away Sky's attack and put in effort to block Bloom's attack. "At this rate this will merely be a small work out for me. And once I fully charge the artifacts this whole magical dimension will bow down to me!" Eldus said as he laughed wickedly as he motioned to the artifacts glowing darker that were floating about a foot behind him.

"Argh! What?!" Eldus grunted in pain when he felt a sharp pain in his back. He slowly turned to see Sky had slashed the length of his back with his sword. Eldus raised his free hand to send the crown prince flying to the netherworld, but he was distracted enough for Bloom to break through his defenses and hit him hard with her Volcanic Attack. He was thrown back closer towards the trees behind him. He managed to regain his composure enough to land on his feet, albeit slightly awkwardly and bleeding from the gash Sky had given him. "You two are trying my patience…I can't wait to curse you both painfully and slowly…" Bloom and Sky prepared for a strong attack to come towards them, when suddenly they saw a little figure silently run out of the bushes closest to the dark sorcerer and jumped for the artifacts. Eldus glanced behind him just in time to see Cari flying past him with the artifacts inches from her hand. "Why you little!"

"Got them!" the child said gleefully. '_Cari Wait!' 'Akira? What's wro-_' the child asked her partner, but she wasn't able to get a response because as soon as she closed her tiny hands around the artifacts and they touched each other they let out a huge energy burst forcing everything near them, besides Cari, some feet away. "Ahhh!" the young girl screamed in shock. "What is happening?" '_He has charged them enough where they cannot contain the power he forced in them without his guidance. And once they touched each other they have begun to lose control_.' "What should I do Akira?!" Everyone besides Eldus grew concerned as they sensed the artifacts getting stronger and wild. '_We need to separate them and then control them one by one. But that will take too long and we don't have the knowledge in how to stop them properly. Only their original guardians would know_.' '_What about the current guardians? They would know right? We need to send them back! Can you do it?_' '_I know the teleportation_ _spell but I've never used it. I can't guarantee that it will go where it needs to. If I miss then it will cause destruction where ever they do land…_'

"Just give them back child. There is no chance that you can put them under your control. Give them here before you hurt yourself." Eldus said with a knowing smile. '_We can cast the spell together Akira!' 'But Cari the risk!' 'We have no choice start the spell and I will help you!_' Akira hesitated but started anyway. Thin, small windows opened before Cari, but they fluctuated as they opened wider. The images shown through them were blurry and could not focus on the exact location in where each artifact would land. All they could see was that they will go to the correct planet. '_This isn't going to work_.' Akira strained to say. '_It will… We just need to concentrate more._' "Oh no you don't!" Eldus said as he realized what the child was trying to do and rushed towards her disregarding the forceful energy coming from the artifacts, but was slapped back by a powerful invisible force.

"Allow me to assist." Cari looked up and saw a handsome transparent being behind her. She just looked mesmerized at the being. "Who…?" '_He is Master Gleadr, the Great Sacred Guardian of Domino, Bloom's sacred partner. You remember him right? He was the first one we met when we were born._' Cari just slightly shook her head. "He looks familiar but I don't remember…" Gleadr smiled and bent down to pat the girl on the head. Once he touched her head she recalled everything. "Gleadr! I've missed you! How have you been?" '_chuckle'_ "Let us catch up at a later time, young fairy. We have more pressing matters." The girl nodded as the dragon bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder. The young girl felt his power and guidance help her complete the teleportation spell.

"BLIND PAIN!" Cari gasped and prepared for the pain of the attack. "VOLCANIC ATTACK!" the young girl looked back to see that Bloom blocked the dark spell with her own attack. "Hurry Cari send them to where they belong!" Cari nodded and focused once again. She saw that the images were becoming clearer in front of her. She got excited when she saw Stella focus in one of the images, then Daphne, then the curator of Solaria's museum. "Do it now Calida Cari." Gleadr said when the spell was complete. Cari nodded but hesitated. "But will they be okay? They don't know these are coming." Cari said as she looked down and the artifacts shaking with overflowing power ready to burst. "They will be fine Cari! Don't worry! Send them now!" Bloom yelled out as she and Sky were fighting with Eldus.

Cari hesitated a bit and nodded before slowly reaching out one arm with the Gem of Lilith towards Stella's image. '_Please be ok. I'm sorry for being so sudden_.' Cari closed her eyes in worry as her arm reached into the window.


	45. Chapter 44: Together as a Family

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus, Glyde, Akria and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_Sorry it has taken me a while to post. I had major writers block… with the last chapters coming I just wanna make sure I describe it the way I imagine it. _

_I've been trying everything to get out of it…Rereading my story and trying to give the new "World of Winx" show a try… I dunno what to think of it… confused, disappointed, annoyed… the timeline is off, I think it is supposed to be based on the time right before Believix, but they know Roxy who has complete control of her powers, no magic is allowed on earth, they are already "stars", with new transformations…it seems that they copied the idea from Totally Spies (but we never know who Jerry is) with the romance from Once Upon a Time (Emma X Hook)…basically Netflix needs to stop trying to be "original"… I want to hope that this show was made for those who have no idea that Winx already have 7 properly made seasons… _

_I even finished watching season 7 and I was a little disappointed in the ending. I thought the Winx would've been sadder to say goodbye to their bonded fairy animals but it felt that the animals were sadder than the Winx. They just accepted that they would be parted forever and didn't even question it or cry about it at all. Sigh. It should've been more emotional not just "ok kool bye" it was even more weird when the unicorn was like "smile Winx we will always be together…" umm… they were already smiling no one really looked sad… _

_Well anyway, sorry for rambling… please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Mia, Bianca298, Peacelovefairy, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' _**Thinking to oneself**_'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 44  
****Together as a Family **

A tiny hand came through the small window that suddenly appeared before her. The fairy reached out and gently cupped the tiny hand in both of hers as she slowly slid the Gem of Lilith out of the tiny hand. As soon as the Gem was in the blond fairy's hand the intense raw power shocked her to the core. 'How was little Cari able to contain all three at the same time?... no time to wonder… I need to control it… now…'

"Stella! Are you ok?" "I-I'm fine B-Brandon!" The sun fairy yelled to her fiancé as the window closed and she struggled to contain the power trying to burst free in her hands. Everyone could feel the weather changing all around them. The winds became fiercer and sharper, dark clouds gathered ominously, and thunder was heard loud and clear. "Stella you need to control it before it destroys the school!" Brandon yelled over the strong wind and thunder. Just as Stella turns to respond, heavy rain falls from above accompanied with lightning hitting the barrier above them. 'It's so strong… how do I stop it?' Panicked, she looked down at her shaking cupped hands 'I –I don't think I can do this alone…' she thought as the Gem shook more violently.

"Brandon where are the Winx?" "They are still fighting Icy and Darcy!" "Dam…" she cursed under her breath. 'I need them… wait… better yet… I need a Stromryder!' "How about Ms. Griselda?!" "I am here, Stella." Stella looked back and saw Ms. Griselda standing a few feet behind her. "Please help me! I can't control it. It's too strong!" the professor just shook her head once. "You are the new guardian now Stella. You need to learn how to guard it properly. And that includes controlling its power." "But how am I supposed to do that?! I only had this thing for about a day!" The young fairy exclaimed in panic as the rain began to fall more heavily and stronger lightning hit the barrier. "Focus! You need to find a way to channel and absorb the raw energy that was forced into the Gem." "Easier said than done." She muttered under her breath.

Pausing Stella thought about what Ms. Griselda just said. 'Channel it… how would I do that?... this is pretty much weather disasters in a handheld…' Stella looked toward the Winx and saw the Trix giving them some trouble 'Maybe I can channel this power at them! Even they can't stop a huge tornado… at least not without Stormy's help.' Stella nodded as she turned towards the Trix and began to concentrate. She panicked a bit when hail started fall from above and the thunder and lightning became even stronger, pulling some nearby trees from the roots. 'Come on Gem of Lilith! Work with me here!' Stella thought in desperation. "Calm down Stella. You can't force your will on it. You must ride the storm out!" Ms Griselda exclaimed to the sun fairy. Stella shakily nodded and took a deep breath to calm herself and began to visualize what she wanted to do.

The blond fairy felt a powerful surge of energy flowing into her. She had a moment of worry that she would not be able to control such powerful magic, but quickly shook it off and glared at the remaining Trix. "Well here goes nothing… STORM OF LILITH!" a powerful energy burst escaped Stella's outreached, opened hands and speed towards Icy and Darcy. "What the-" Icy screamed as she saw the blast headed towards them. Too slow to dodge, she and Darcy were caught up in the giant tornado that threw them around in endless circles. Right before the winds died down they were hit with a huge bolt of lightning. As they both fell to the earth, unconscious, Aisha was kind enough to catch them in a Morphix Net, before wrapping them up with the same net in a sturdy cage and handcuffs. The Winx in shock turned to their blond friend who was kneeling on the ground panting and Brandon congratulating her.

"Wow Stella! That was amazing! How did you manage to do that?" Musa asked as they approached her. "Just had… to focus… and ride… out… the storm…" She said in between breaths. "That must have been exceptionally challenging for you then." Tecna teased. The Winx and Specialists laughed lightheartedly as Brandon helped his fiancé to her feet. "Is that the thanks I get for saving everyone?" Stella remarked in a playfully pouty face.

"Well done ladies! You all did an exceptional job!" Headmistress Faragonda said as she walked toward them with the whole of Alfea behind her. "I especially commend you Stella for purifying the Gem of Lilith once more." The headmistress said as she motioned at the clearing skies. "Thank you, headmistress Faragonda. I am just glad that I got a warning before hand." "Who warned you anyway?" Flora asked "Bloom texted me saying that Cari got the artifacts back and she was going to send them back to their guardians. And that I should warn Daphne and Solaria." Stella replied as she showed the text on her phone. "Wow I'm surprised that Bloom is letting Cari fight." Flora commented "Kid probably gave her no choice." Riven added with a proud grin. Everyone nodded their agreement and smiled as they recalled the child's strong personality, much like their beloved leader.

"That's great that they got her back. Bloom was so worried about her." Flora said with a smile. "Did you warn everyone else?" Tecna asked "Yup I got a hold of everyone in time… hopefully… I should call to make sure." Stella said as she looked at her phone's contacts. "Yea, let's make sure they have everything under control and once they are we will go help Bloom defeat Eldus!" Aisha said with confidence. "Actually… Bloom said she doesn't want us to go help." "What why? That is not the logical course of action." Tecna said with her brows furrowed. Stella just shrugged. "That's all her text said…" she scrolled down a bit farther in her messages to show everyone the last text from Bloom: "DON'T COME FIND ME! I WILL DEFEAT HIM ALONE. LOVE YOU WINX! DRAGON ORB!"

Everyone was speechless. "How does she expect us to do nothing while she fights evil alone?" Riven exclaimed. "What I am curious is why she added 'Dragon Orb' to the end…" Helia asked innocently. "She used voice-to-text… you speak and your phone writes for you. She must be fighting now. That's why that was added before sending." Tecna commented. "What do we do now?" Flora asked with worried eyes. The Winx and Specialists looked at each other in confusion. No one knew the correct answer.

"We will respect her wishes." The headmistress said with a sure smile. "I think this battle is more than meets the eye. Besides you are all tired from dealing with the Trix and who knows if Stormy will come back or not. We will wait and pray for her triumphant and safe return." "But she might not survive this alone…" Stella whispered loud enough for all to hear. "I do not believe she is truly alone. She has her guardian Dragon correct? As well as young Cari and Sky. I am sure they will protect each other." Headmistress Faragonda said with a warm smile. 'Sigh' "She's right…" Aisha started. "We shouldn't get in Bloom's way… she is more powerful now. We might end up just holding her back instead of helping." The Winx and Specialists sadly nodded in agreement as they sent silent prayers to their leader and friends.

* * *

"Cari are you done?" Bloom asked as she defended against Eldus' attacks. "Yea, they're back where they belong." The small child said as the small windows closed as she stood. "Good because we need to get out of here… grab hold of me… NOW!" Bloom exclaimed as she saw Eldus start to charge up another energy blast. "I can fly on my own…" "Not as fast as me… now Cari!" the small girl just nodded and flew up to wrap her arms around Bloom's neck. "Hold on tight! DRAGON'S ORB!" Bloom yelled as she placed another barrier with a hole above them and flew as fast as she could through the hole just as Eldus broke through it and made a small crater where they once stood.

"How dare you take my new toys! Now I can't destroy you quickly. Pity for you, it will now be a painful and slow demise! BLIND PAIN!" Bloom quickly dodged Eldus' attack and flew for cover in the woods. 'I need to get Cari out of here.' Suddenly the fairy heard some noise closely following her. She looked back to see Cari's bat on her shoulder. "Bloom, Glyde said that Sky is looking for us over there by a cave." The small girl pointed to their left. Bloom just nodded and flew as fast as she could in the pointed direction. They both heard Eldus throwing attack after attack blindly into the trees.

After a short moment of speed flying, Glyde jumped off Cari's shoulder and flew straight down towards a cave. Bloom quickly followed the small bat. She brightened when she saw Sky waving at them by the entrance of the cave. "Sky I'm so glad you're safe." The fairy exclaimed as she quickly gave her fiancé a hug. "Same here Bloom. I was worried for a moment there, he looks like he is angrier than ever before." "Now that we sent the artifacts away it looks like this will end like his battle with Jeanne." Bloom finished as she touched Jeanne's locket still around her neck.

'_Guardian, we must go back to battle; we mustn't allow him to escape. But you must be prepared to fight without any distractions; we must end this battle once and for all.'_ Bloom slightly nodded and looked up to see Sky praising Cari for her courageous actions. The fairy took a step back and quickly levitated her two beloved family into the cave behind them and erected an extremely strong barrier. "Bloom? What are you doing?!" Sky exclaimed as he banged against the unmoving barrier. "I'm going to fight Eldus full on. I can't be worrying about you two. Don't worry I will save the magical dimension. Thanks for your help until now I couldn't have gotten the artifacts without you both." Bloom turned to head back to battle, but paused and slightly looked back with tears in her eyes. "I love you both so much. Sky make sure to protect our precious child. Cari you be a good girl ok?" "No! Bloom get back here!" Sky exclaimed as he continued to bang on the barrier while he heard Cari's cries and as he watched his fiancé fly away into the thickness of the trees.

'_You must pull yourself together, young guardian. Now is not the time to be emotional.' 'I'm sorry for being emotional when I might not see my family again.'_ Bloom snapped. _'Don't be heartless Glaedr. Not right now.'_ The fairy said as silent tears fell. _'I do not mean to be heartless, young guardian, but you need to be focused and ready for the battle to come… and I will do my best to make sure you get the best chance to return to your family as I can give. I do not wish to give another dying message to another one of my guardian's lover.'_ Bloom paused when she felt the pain Glaedr felt when he remembered the Jeanne's death. Those feelings quickly disappeared the same moment she felt them, and were replaced with strong determination. She then took a deep breath and shook the negativity out of her mind as she wiped her tears away. "I'm sorry for calling you heartless. You are far from that. I'm ready now. Let's go Glaedr, let's destroy this horrible demon together!" Bloom exclaimed as she flew back towards the clearing '_About that Bloom… I think you should know-'_

But the dragon was interrupted when Bloom flew into the clearing where Eldus stood still blindly firing shots into the forest. "Let's finish this Eldus! FLAME STORM!"Bloom grinned as she landed a direct hit and charged into the smoke to continue her attack. "You think that would've even left a scratch on me? Think again weak guardian! BLIND PAIN!" "Argh!" '_That hurt_…' Bloom rubbed her left side where the attack clipped her '_Keep your wits about you guardian… he fights to destroy…_' "Fine let's get serious…VOLCANIC ATTACK!" Bloom flew as fast as she could towards the dark sorcerer while sending attack after attack to Eldus and landing every third hit, but every hit Eldus took Bloom took just as many from him. After a few landed Eldus began to stagger backwards. '_Keep it up young guardian!_' Bloom nodded and kept throwing more blasts, then she paused slightly to charge up her strongest attack. "UNSTOPPABLE FIRE!"

Eldus looked up and saw the blast coming towards him and had just enough time to brace for impact. Panting and bruised Bloom waited and hoped that the battle was done. She began to relax a bit when nothing came out of the crater she created. '_Is it done?' 'NO! JUMP!'_ by habit from training Bloom followed Glaedr's orders and immediately jumped as high as she could, but it was not fast enough. A dark energy blast caught her right ankle. She landed awkwardly on the ground a few feet away griping her injured foot. '_Dam_…' "I told you not to underestimate me…" Eldus said in a low voice as he menacingly walked closer to her. He looked just as injured and tired as Bloom. His clothing torn, right arm bleeding and a bruised cheek. "I'll give it to you though… this pain reminds me of my final battle with Jeanne… but don't get too happy… it will not end up the same for me… for you on the other hand I don't see anything changing your fate." Eldus said with a cold smile as he threw another attack at Bloom. "DRAGON ORB!"

"Don't think that this barrier will prolong your life for very long!" Eldus said as he walked closer and closer while he sent attack after attack at the barrier. Bloom began to feel the barrier start to crack. '_Glaedr I don't think I have the strength to defeat him… it's over isn't it?' _ The princess started to tear as her fear grew and her barrier began to break apart. '_You must stand and fight Guardian… you must defeat this darkness!'_ Just then Eldus happily laughed when the barrier shattered and he saw the defenseless fairy. "Have you finally given up? Good, now I can dispose of you." "I'm sorry Sky, Cari. I couldn't come back to you." Bloom closed her eyes shut as she waited for the final blow.

"Goodbye, descendent of Jeanne. RECKONIG AGONY!" "Not just yet!" Bloom gasped as she opened her eyes and saw Sky and Cari deflecting Eldus' attack. "But how?" She managed to whisper out. "Well Akira showed me how to break your barrier. Since I directly came from your power it wasn't that hard to do." Cari said with a smile as Sky began to attack the dark sorcerer and leaving a few deep cuts. "I know that you don't want us to get hurt, but you did hurt us when you left us behind to fight alone, Bloom." Bloom gazed at the small girl in shock "I know I haven't been alive for very long… but I'm pretty sure that families are supposed to deal with problems together, right?" Bloom teared as she realized that Cari was right. If they fight together they will have a better chance… and they will lose or win together. She wiped away her tears and slowly stood up. "Your right, Cari. As a family we need to take care of this together. Are you ready?" Cari jumped up and floated close to Bloom. "Ready?!"

Bloom and Cari flew as fast as they could directly at Eldus. "UNSTOPABLE FIRE!" they both said in unison as their attack met a distracted Eldus directly and sent him flying with heavy damage. "Nice hit ladies!" Sky said as he looked at his fiancé and child with a proud gleam in this eyes. "Let's finish him off together Sky." "Of course!" Everyone took their stance once they saw Eldus slowly standing up once again. "Oo how charming… the Domino royal family thinks they can defeat me as one big happy family… how much I will prove you wrong! BLIND PAIN!" The three barely dodged it in time.

Sky charged once more and swung his sword. "DRAGON'S BLADE!" "Arg! That hurt. RUPTURE!" Sky did his best to hold off the attack but it was too strong to fully block and was sent flying back. "FLAME STORM!" Bloom cried and she attacked Eldus from behind and Cari followed. The dark sorcerer blocked and sent his own attack at the two fairies. A whole series of energy blasts were exchanged both making hits and taking them. Bloom would do her best to block Cari from almost all the attacks, but Eldus managed to hit her with his last attack when Bloom had just taken a hit from his another blast. The fairy looked up and saw that Cari was knocked unconscious a few feet away. "No Cari!" "Hahaha well that took longer than I thought, but it was inevitable. ENSNARE!" Eldus wrapped a dark grey bubble around both Cari and Sky. "Now what will you do Sacred Guardian? Will you surrender willingly or will I destroy your beloved family?"

Bloom looked defiantly at Eldus who just stared back patiently, with tattered clothes and bleeding limbs. But her gaze grew with concern when she began to hear Sky's ragged breathing. "Oops did I forget to mention that the air inside my spell slowly becomes poison… apologies. Now I do hope you come to a decision quickly… for their sakes" He said with a grim smile.

'_Glaedr what do I do? He's hurting them… I don't know if I could build up the strength to destroy him' _Bloom asked flustered_ 'You have the power within you… all you need to do is throw away the desire to live…' 'But I have… I know I won't make it back…' 'But you have yet to accept it. You know as well as I, that you still have lingering strong desires to go back… as a result you are unconsciously holding back to conserve power.'_ Bloom hesitated but slowly nodded as she closed her eyes. '_Your right Glaedr … I did want to go back… I want to marry Sky… I want to see Cari grow up… to want to see the sunrise with my family and friends again… but… in order for _them_ to see the next sunrise I must defeat Eldus… I need to make sure he will never hurt them or anyone else ever again… If I go down I am taking him with me!'_ In that moment Bloom's power rose exponentially, as she let go of the future that she wanted. "What have you done?!" Eldus exclaimed as he felt a familiar chill run down his spine. Fear flashed in his eyes as he looked upon Bloom's strong glowing aura and saw a clear vision of Jeanne "How could you accept your death so willingly?! Do you want to leave your family behind so badly? Do you want to leave your daughter without her mother and husband without his queen?!" Fear and anger took control of his mind as everything began to play as it once did 3,000 years ago. 'No I will not be sealed away again! Not this time!' Eldus turned to Sky's bubble and began to shrink it, but he failed to notice that in his hesitation Bloom was already weaving her magic through the bubbles and broke them before any harm could come to her family. "NO! I will not be sealed away, not again! RECKONING AGONY!" Bloom took the blast head on and even she was surprised when she emerged unscathed.

Bloom looked up and coldly stared at dark sorcerer. "You are wrong Eldus. I don't plan to seal you away… I plan to destroy you once and for all… SACRED DRAGON'S BLAZING INFERNO!" "NO, NO, NO… RECKONONG AGONY!" The blasts collided in between the two and neither faltered for a moment, but it was obvious that Bloom was gaining ground. "You will never hurt anyone ever again!" Bloom forced so much power into her blast that she didn't notice Jeanne's locket glowing until she heard a strong voice call out.

"Wait!"


	46. Chapter 45: The Untold Story

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club. Just __Glaedr__, Eldus, Glyde, Akria and Cari. _

**_A/N:_**_Hello everyone, _

_I hope that everyone had a beautiful xmas and new years! Filled with love, fun, and food! ;-) _

_I wanted to take a chance to respond to a couple of comments that I wanted to reply to: _

_To [Anna]: I'm sorry that I took so long to post I was having a hard time writing my thoughts down on paper. And it didn't help that life got pretty busy for me. But I do try to write every chance I get. And I think I should apologize in advance… tax season is coming and my time to write will be cut down dramatically, but I will do my best to post at least once during those months (Feb-April) _

_To [Katlover]: I am sooooo glad you liked my story so much! I really tried hard to make sure the character's personalities stayed true to how they are. I hope to make you proud! XD_

_please let me know if any part gets confusing... please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Anna, Peacelovefairy, Katlover, Lyrical-Light, Griff141, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' _**Thinking to oneself**_'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 45  
The Untold Story**

Bloom looked up and coldly stared at dark sorcerer. "You are wrong Eldus. I don't plan to seal you away… I plan to destroy you once and for all… SACRED DRAGON'S BLAZING INFERNO!" "NO, NO, NO… RECKONONG AGONY!" The blasts collided in between the two and neither faltered for a moment, but it was obvious that Bloom was gaining ground. "You will never hurt anyone ever again!" Bloom forced so much power into her blast that she didn't notice Jeanne's locket glowing until she heard a strong voice call out.

"Wait!"

The fairy blinked when she heard the voice. She was startled when she noticed that time had froze. "What the…?" As a reflex she pulled herself thinking that she couldn't move, but was surprised when her wings carried her higher with ease. Looking down at her slightly transparent hands, she panicked a little when she saw another her below her, frozen, mid attack. "What's happening? Why am I astral projecting?"

"Hello Bloom. I apologize for this; I didn't mean to startle you." Bloom quickly turned around at the same voice that she heard earlier. "Jeanne? How?" The former queen floated slightly above her with a gentle smile on her face, in her fairy form. A shin length deep blue dress, with red lace trimmings, a delicate embroidery of light red, and orange flames dancing along the hem of the dress, her wings beautifully shimmering behind her.

Bloom slightly shook her head to clear her shock. "Jeanne… what are you doing here? Can this wait? I'm kinda in the middle of something here…" she said as she motioned below them. Jeanne looked down and saw the frozen physical world. She saw Bloom focused on bringing down Eldus. While Eldus expressing rage at the fairy before him with a slight hint of concern. "Yes, I can see that…" The former Queen looked up and locked eyes with Bloom.

Unfazed by her unwavering gaze Bloom pressed on. "How are you here?" "I left the remaining part of power in my locket right before I died, to protect my family and future generations, and for a chance to see Eldus' fate. And to possibly change it… I was able to appear before you because it sensed Eldus' fate coming to an end."

Bloom flinched as she saw sadness and pain glowing in the Queen's blue eyes. "I know you have trained hard with Glaedr for this moment, Bloom… and I know it must be strange for me to stop you at such a crucial time…" "Then why do you? He needs to be destroyed, he's pure evil, he's hurt so many people, he's hurt you!" The hint of tears shined in Jeanne's eyes. "I know but you can't kill Eldus… you can't kill my friend… not like this… at least not without knowing the whole truth…" "Wait what?!" Bloom gaped.

'Sigh' "Bloom you have been told almost everything there is to know about the dark sorcerer, Eldus. Everything except one detail… Eldus used to be an innocent citizen of Domino, he used to be good, he used to be a scholar, he was…is… my cherished childhood friend… Nicolas."

Bloom gapped… 'How could a normal person turn so evil especially when he grew up with Jeanne… unless he sought out that dark power.' "How is that possible? Why did he seek out evil?" Bloom whispered out, trying to understand.

"He didn't seek it out… it sought _him_ out… and at his weakest point it took control of him and transformed him into the dark being you see now." Glaedr said as he materialized besides his current guardian fairy with arms crossed facing his former guardian. "Glaedr? How?" Bloom asked, seeing her sacred partner beside her as clear as in the caves. "As we are in the astral plane I can easily be seen, per my wishes… it is more challenging in the physical world…" the dragon said with a shrug.

"Hello again old friend. You look well." Jeanne said with a bright smile "Jeanne." He greeted curtly. "You weren't able to finish telling Bloom Eldus' full story I see. Trying to spare her the pain as you tried to do for me?" the dragon shook his head "I learned from that experience. Unexpected interruptions made telling her everything… difficult." He responded casually. "I see. Perhaps it was always my duty to tell her."

"Ok, so tell me now…what could have despaired him so much to result in Eldus?" "Unrequited love…" "A broken heart caused all of this!?" Bloom exclaimed at the evil sorcerer below them, but could slightly understand why that could be as she recalled how it felt when she almost lost Sky.

'Sigh' "As you know, Love is the most powerful emotion anyone can have. Based on the strength of that love it can sway the heart _and_ mind from one side to another. Knowing that, I need to tell you the story about my friendship with sweet Nicolas and how he became known as the dark sorcerer, Eldus" Bloom took a deep breath as she waited for Jeanne to start her story.  
"It all started on my fifth birthday… as the first princess of Domino it was expected to have a huge party in my honor. I didn't look forward to it much…parties were so long and boring; I preferred not to be cooped up… I guess you could say that I was a bit of a tomboy." Jeanne said with a shy smile that was interrupted with a scoff from the ancient dragon. "Ok I was a big tomboy…" the former queen said with a playful glare at her old partner. "But I digress, I was unhappy at first when I was caught and dolled up, forced to stand still besides my parents. I was already expecting to have a boring night of strangers from far off realms showering me with boring gifts and empty praises. What I did not expect was meeting sweet Nicolas at the right place, at the right time…"

* * *

*_flashback_*

"Mother may I be excused for a moment?" the young red headed child said very politely and with a slight bow, she was at her wits end after greeting her 50th guest. "I need to use the restroom." "Very well Jeanne. Do try not to get lost on your way back, my dear." The gentle Queen said with a knowing smile. The girl said her thanks before bowing again and quickly walking out of the great ballroom. Once unseen in the hallway, she let out a huge sigh of relief as she slumped against the far wall. "Ugh these parties are so boring. Only adults show up and pretend they care about me. It would be better to be with kids my age, better yet if I had some friends." Before she remembered how lonely she was she decided to get some fresh air. She looked around making sure no one was looking and walked over to the window. She looked out and saw that the second floor window was close to a sturdy looking tree.

"Good." She slowly slid it open and jumped out, hanging off the closest branch, she easily jumped down from branch to branch until she jumped to the last branch a few feet of the ground. She didn't expect the branch to break once all her weight was on it. She yelped in shock when she braced herself for the rough landing. "Watch out!" "Oof" Jeanne slowly opened her eyes surprised that the fall didn't hurt. Reaching down she felt something soft. "Umm… can you get off me, please?" A small voice from underneath her said. Jumping up and backing away she looked down and was surprised to see a boy, a little older than she was, on the floor rubbing his head.

"O my goodness! I am soo sorry!" Jeanne said as she ran over to the boy. She took a moment to carefully look at him and saw a small scrawny boy, dressed in commoner's clothing, with an apron tied around his waist with large glasses hanging off the tip of his nose threatening to fall off his face, light caramel eyes gaping back up at her. "Are you ok? Thank you for saving me." Jeanne said as she reached down and helped him to his feet. "Umm… Yes I'm fine. I'm glad I made it on time. What were you doing in that tree anyway? Don't you know it's dangerous for girls to climb trees especially in huge party dresses? By the way are you alright?" He said as he brushed some dirt off his clothes and adjusted his glasses to properly look at her. "Yes, I am perfectly fine. Thanks to you." She said as she saw recognition flicker in his eyes "Wait… you're Princess Jeanne!" He exclaimed as he immediately knelt down in a deep respectable bow. "Apologizes, your majesty! I didn't recognize you without my glasses on; please forgive me for being so forward."

He really didn't expect warm hands to reach out to his hand and stand him up once again. "Please don't apologize. It was my fault for being the tree." She said with a gentle smile. "I'm sorry Princess…oo wait I'm sorry for being sorry… wait… umm…" soft giggles stopped him from saying anymore. "You're funny… oo I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh at you…umm… sir…?" "O N- Nicolas. My name is Nicolas. J-just Nicolas." He said with a shy smile. "Well, I am pleased to make your acquaintance Nicholas." "As am I, Princess Jeanne." He said with a slight bow "Please call me Jeanne." "O no I could never, that wouldn't be proper. A commoner such as myself couldn't address royalty so informal, and I don't know you that well to be so casual." He said as he shook his head and waving his hands in the air in a slight panic.

"Well, then let's get to know each other." She replied as if it was obvious thing to do "Huh? Why? I am just a simple commoner, a servant. Shouldn't you be getting to know your guests at your party instead of someone like me?" He said as he looked up to the open window. "Well, adult conversation is boring and no one there really wants to know the real me only the role I play. And I wouldn't call you simple at all. No simple person would have saved me like you did, and not demand a reward right after." The young boy turned deep red at the praise "Save you?! No, I didn't do anything heroic as that. I just cushioned your fall is all…" Jeanne only smiled sweetly and did a little twirl to show her undamaged dress. "But you did save me. From a nasty fall, from ruining my dress, and from getting in trouble. So, I would like to know more about my honest savior." She said sweetly. "Perhaps even call you a friend?" she said with a shy voice as she looked at him with pleading eyes. The boy flushed realizing he couldn't deny this girl before him. "Umm.. y-yea sure.. I-if you don't mind s-someone like m-me." "And as long as you don't mind being friends with someone like me." The princess said with an excited smile. "No, I don't mind at all." He said in a soft whisper. "Yay! You just gave me the best birthday present I could ask for, Nick!" the young girl said as she held his hands and jumped excitedly, while he was shocked at the sudden contact and at the nickname. "But I didn't give you anything…" he responded in confusion. "Your friendship your gift to me, right?" It took him a moment to let those words sink in before he slowly nodded. "H-Happy Birthday, J-Jeanne." He said softly.

_*End Flashback*_

We talked all night, well at least until my parents sent the royal guards to find me and bring me back for the last event of my party. Nick and I became very close after that night; I enjoyed having my first real friend. Even at a young age I was able to sense things that some adults couldn't. I sensed that Nicolas had a very pure and sweet heart, which was a bit uncommon to find back then; it was always so comforting to stay by him because I knew that he was always honest with me, unlike some of the adults that came to visit my family. I trusted him with everything and he never betrayed that trust. Since he worked in the castle it was easier sneak away, every chance we got.

As the years passed we grew closer, like siblings. Since he was three years older than me you would expect me to think of him as an older brother, but because of our personalities I always saw him as a younger brother. The younger brother that I always needed to watch out for, to care for. He was such a gentle and meek boy. While I was very outgoing and strong willed. I was always the one protecting him from bullies, while he protected me from the stress of my daily royal duties. Without him I'm sure I would've gone mad or hurt myself in searching for ways to vent my frustrations. He always knew how to calm me down when I was feeling overwhelmed from my studies and duties.

After a while I discovered how powerful and unstable my magic truly was. It scared me at first because I couldn't control it very well; there were some accidents, and it didn't help that I lost control when my emotions got the better of me. Lucky for me Glaedr appeared to begin my training and I had Nicolas for constant support. There were times when I had to go train in the caves for months at a time and Nicolas always left my favorite snacks, flowers and letters for me at the edge of the sacred forest. It always made me so happy when Glaedr would go out and come back with Nicolas' basket of comfort and news from the outside world. Without him I'm sure I wouldn't have completed my training as quick as I did, for I'm sure you know how strict of a teacher the old dragon is. And for me being so young, rowdy, and scared it was harder for me to patiently learn.

Once I finally did complete my training I was taught on how to sense and prevent the evil shadows that were trying to invade our planet. Even though I was busy with my studies, regular royal duties, magic training, and helping in protecting Domino I always had time for Nicolas. We would always play our favorite game of what we wanted to be when we grew up, thinking up random and funny futures. Ones that we thought were ridiculous to ones that were well beyond our reach.

After a while we began to change in both mind and body… the daydreams of our future became actual dreams that we desired to strive for. We fully began to realize that we were growing up when our appearances started to change.

He didn't change much, he was still a scrawny, delicate, sweet young man who loved reading all the books he was able to get his hands on, the only major change was he grew to be fairly tall. He dreamt to be a great archeologist and work at the royal museum one day. Archeology was his passion, history and seeing how civilizations grew brought excitement to his eyes, but he had no desire to leave Domino he was afraid of the other realms and the shadows that shrouded over them.

While my dream were the opposite. I wanted to change the future, not stay in the past. I wanted to travel outside of Domino by becoming a diplomat of sorts; I wanted to share the feeling and wisdom of peace to the other realms. But I knew I had a lot of maturing and learning to even have the possibility to see that dream become a reality.

And I did, I grew in more ways than one, as my brain grew so did my beauty, or at least that's what I was told. But looking at you I can see why I was called beautiful, since we are so similar in appearance.

We supported each other's dreams, even though he didn't fully agree with mine, he thought it was too dangerous for me to leave Domino. And even tried to convince me to stay, but after many failed attempts he accepted my decision and helped me instead.

Unfortunately, I learned early that women and intelligence did not mix well in the public eye, especially outside of Domino. Since the royal women on Domino tend to be powerful leaders that guarded the dragon flame it was more open here to accept a woman in the political world. It took all my abilities to show Domino how capable I was as a voice to be heard and not just a pretty fairy, but I was determined to reach my full dream.

Now, as you know the dragon flame kept the evil shadows at bay, Domino never had wars, famine, natural disasters… nothing… we were the only ones in the magical universe who knew true peace. Sure we had an incident or two every now and then from the evil shadows that were trying to take over, but it was nothing we couldn't manage. I always saw the peaceful and happy faces of my people and I felt that the realms should know this kind of peace as well, even though no one else really agreed with me.

The elders of Domino wanted nothing to do with the other realms, because they were afraid that coming into contact with the outside world would give the evil shadows an entryway into Domino. They were afraid to lose the peace they always had. Regardless I decided to pursue my dreams of spreading peace to the magical dimension. I went to study at multiple colleges in multiple realms, trying to learn and spread my ideas of peace as much as I could.

It was very difficult to get into a college off world since I was girl and a princess. It was practically unheard of a girl going to a university let alone a princess, especially one at a marriaging age. So I had to hide that I was the crown princess of Domino, and get a ton of recommendations from prestigious people outside the royal family.

I was so ecstatic when I was approved to my first college on my own merit without the title. Nicholas didn't fully share my excitement, but he was happy that I was happy. It was my first step to realizing my dream.

My father wasn't so excited either. He was very torn, knowing how hard it would be for me especially since other realms did not share an open mind about intelligent women. The only comfort he had in my departure was the fact that one of my most trusted friends, Mia who I meet through Nick, would be journeying with me. Thankfully she was just as interested in politics as I was, even though she was originally trained to become a member of the royal guard. My father was satisfied that a trained soldier and scholar was to be with me.

When I left for my first year of college, it was the hardest day of my young life. It wasn't only because my father and the elders kept trying to convince me to stay, but because it was hard to leave Nicholas behind. It was hard knowing that after 14 years of seeing each other almost every day, we wouldn't be able to see each other for at least four years. But now that I think about it, it must have been especially hard on him because the day I left he suddenly decided to quit his dream job at the museum and take an internship as a traveling archeologist on a far off world. Saying that he hoped to see me one day on a different world, believing we will cross paths again before I finish my travels, and if we did he promised to tell me his deepest secret.

For curiosity's sake, I wished for the same, knowing how unlikely that was, but I still hoped, wanting to know the secret he kept from me all these years. I never would've thought that his secret that he kept was his true feelings for me.

During my five years away, I always looked for him with no luck. It was difficult to stay in touch, since I was always moving from realm to realm and the ruins he went to never had a proper address, so we didn't get a chance to properly stay in touch. I even went out of my way to go to the ruins on the realms I was visiting in hopes of finding him. Though most of my searches were fruitless, I didn't expect to find the love of my life instead on the last year of my travels.

It was on one of the worlds that was strongly shrouded by the dark shadows, it was a world filled with war, famine, and pain. I was there trying to convince the elders and the royal family of a plan to put a stop to all the wars on their world and start to rebuild the cities and farms. Of course it was a battle to convince them because investing in the people would have cost the wealthy a lot of money that they were not willing to spend so freely, fearing that they will know the pain of poverty as most of the citizens of their planet knew. My voice only touched deaf ears, ignoring my ideas and plans, rolling their eyes every time I walked into the room. There was only one that countered back. Questioning my ideas, pushing me to come up with better answers, always trying to prove I was wrong.

Days we would bicker back and forth, both inside and outside the court, finding the flaws in each other's words and finding ways to mend those flaws. At the beginning, I despised that man, always trying to undermine me during my meetings with the royal court, always finding flaws in my ideas. And because no one knew I was a crown princess, they didn't want to hear absurd ideas from a simple stubborn woman. It was weeks before I realized that this man was actually trying to help me come up with better ideas. It wasn't long before we became friends and not long after that we realized we had fallen for each other.

Mia quickly approved of my choice when I told her, saying: 'Finally it's about time! You two doing that arguing-flirting thing was getting annoying. But I'm glad you found a man as stubborn and strong willed as you. He might just survive being by your side.'

After almost a year on that world, my time there came to an end. It was the longest stay I had during my travels, mainly because I didn't want to say my goodbyes to Leo, and I wanted to make sure the royal court began to seriously think about my Peace Proposal. But Domino was calling me back… I had extended my travels far too long.

Before I left, a plan was sent in motion to help the war stricken planet in hopes of growing the economy for the better and bringing light to the dark world. It was a bittersweet moment…my heart was torn… I didn't want to leave my dear, Leonard, but I no longer had a valid reason to stay. I had a duty and a promise to return to Domino after five years, so I headed back home.

I never told Leo that I was the Crown Princess of Domino, I was scared that he would be enraged that I kept such a secret from him. And I knew that with his simple background there would more likely be no hope in our future together. For the spouse of the next ruler of Domino had to be picked by the King and Queen, and it had to be one from royal lineage or similar, preferably someone from Domino.

In despair I returned to my home, leaving Leo only a short letter of farewell and an apology for my sudden departure with hopes that he will forgive and forget me. Because I was so distraught it took us a little longer to return home for the trip back home, I wanted to take some time to hopefully settle my feelings before I stood before my parents. But it took the moment I saw my beloved kingdom again that my determination sparked anew. I vowed then and there that I will do what it takes to be the ruler my kingdom deserved regardless of who was by my side, I knew I would always love Leo, but my duty to my people mattered more than my heart. And with the knowledge that I gained on my travels I knew that I would rule wisely and just, while still spreading peace throughout the magical universe. Though I still hoped that a betrothed was still a distant thought in my parent's minds, regardless of how many suitors tempted them. I needed time to lock away my feelings for Leo.

I was caught off guard when I greeted my parents and they immediately informed me that I was to be married, they had a suitor that pleased them and I was to meet with him that night at my welcome back party. They were so ecstatic, while I hid my despair behind a false smile. My heartbreak of saying goodbye to Leo opening fresh once again, but I knew I had to do what was needed of me.

After hours of tears, I prepared myself and went down to the party and prepared to meet this 'perfect suitor'. With a fake smile and slightly swollen eyes expertly covered with powder I sat beside the empty seat by my father. I scoffed at the tardiness of my betrothed. After dinner came and went, still no sign of him, I began to hope he had lost interest and left. Hope began to bloom when we entered the ballroom to begin the ball, still no sight of him.

To my dismay a hand tapped me on the shoulder. Only close relatives, spouses or betrothed can touch a member of the royal family. A deep voice echoed in my ears. "I apologize for being tardy my lady; my father had an important matter to discuss with me on a Proposal that he recently received. It is great to officially meet the beautiful Crown Princess Jeanne." I turned prepared to give my best performance, when shinning jade eyes froze me in place.

"Jeanne meet your betrothed! The fifth prince of Aires, Prince Leonard!" My father said in a loud, proud voice. Too stunned to even move I just gapped in utter confusion. My beloved Leo was standing before me in royal attire with the Aries royal family crest, smiling at me mischievously. "May I have this first dance, Princess?" He asked as he reached out for my hand. Slowly I nodded once and accepted his hand as he led me to the dance floor. I gazed up at him as he led me gracefully across the dance floor.

"Leo… how?" "Hmm? How what? How did I find you? How did I become your betrothed? How did I know who you are?" He asked with a knowing smile, where I only nodded still shocked. "I saw your crest in your room one day… you should remember to properly hide things if you want to keep things secret not leave them practically in the open… that's when I knew who you really were. And when I did I began planning to make sure I wouldn't lose you. Like you I kept my true identity a secret to my peers. Since I am the fifth royal son I was able to choose what I wanted to do with my life so I choose politics. I never expected to see a pretty young woman walk in and start spouting nonsense of peace nor did I expect to fall in love with such a firey, stubborn woman. When I read your farewell letter I knew I had to act, lest I lose you forever. Lucky for me you took a little longer to come back here, I meet with your parents and told them everything." I looked back and saw the loving and smirking faces of my parents watching us. They had tricked me, they knew the whole time.

"Now Jeanne I have something important to ask you." He swept me towards the window and knelt down on one knee without letting go of my hands, he looked up at me like I was his whole world. Speechless all I could was stare at him "Will you do me the greatest honor of becoming my princess, my wife?" Tears sprang into my eyes as I tried not to tackle him to the ground, we were still in a public setting and a princess couldn't make a scene like that. Slowly I regained my senses and exclaimed "Yes, my dear Leo! Yes I will marry you!" I jumped into his arms the moment he stood up, I lost a bit of composure, and gave him the kiss I had been holding back since the first moment I knew I fell in love with him.

But not all was happy in that moment… I didn't notice a lonely face peering into the window beside us. I didn't hear the voice that called out my name in despair. I didn't care to wonder why my best friend was not there. But I did notice when I felt the coldest shock rattle my very bones. It was in that moment I knew that something had just woken up; a force so wicked that it would destroy everything I hold dear if not stopped.

The next day I went out to the place where I was to meet Nicolas. When he didn't show up I began to worry for his safety, I began to ask around for his whereabouts. He never broke his promises to me, I knew he wouldn't willingly break the promise we made of meeting again after five years. I searched as much as I could for him, I sent search parties to each realm he had gone to, but every messenger I sent came back with the same story. He was there, but left when he was scheduled to. Everyone thought he had reached Domino already. I never stopped searching for him, even when Eldus appeared and made life difficult.

It took me to the very last moment to realize that Nicholas' love for me was so strong that when he saw me accept Leo's proposal through the window it shattered his heart so much that the only comfort he immediately found was in the deceiving promises the evil shadows gave him. During our final battle, when I found out that the evil demon that I have been fighting this whole time, was actually my sweet Nicholas and that it was my destiny to seal him away forever...it almost broke me enough to fail. How could that be? How could Nick want to hurt so many people? Sweet, innocent, pure Nick; who loved to read, loved to go on long walks, loved bonding with animals big or small, loved Oatmeal even though he looked awkward in the kitchen, How could I be destined to

How could that be? How could Nick want to hurt so many people? Sweet, innocent, pure Nick; who loved to read, loved to go on long walks, loved bonding with animals big or small, loved Oatmeal even though he looked awkward in the kitchen. How could I be destined to seal my best friend away! I was upset that Glaedr took so long to tell me that he saw what happened to him that night, but in the end I knew that I needed to put a stop to this darkness and fulfill my duty no matter how much it hurt me, hurt us. He didn't deserve this outcome, Nicholas should've been free to live his life peacefully not be corrupted like this.

* * *

Bloom gapped at her predecessor. 'Eldus –I mean Nicholas – was- is- being controlled…' the young fairy looked down at the dark sorcerer and couldn't believe that he was once such an innocent man, deeply in love. "Now you see…" Jeanne said softly with tears in her eyes. "He should be cleansed of the evil tormenting his pure soul, and you are the only one who can do it… you can choose to save his soul from eternal pain."

"But it takes much more magic to purify then it does to destroy…" Jeanne looked down sadly and nodded in agreement "You need to make a choice, Bloom… try to save the innocent soul forced into darkness or sacrifice it for the greater good of the magical dimension…" the former queen looked up with eyes filled with gentle understanding. "The choice is yours Bloom... and rest assured ...you will not be judged on either choice…" She said as she faded away, a tear escaping her eye.

Bloom ran her fingers through her hair in frustration when Jeanne faded away. "Glaedr what do I do? I don't know if I have enough power to purify him… if I use everything up and it doesn't work he will eventually regain his strength and wreak havoc on the worlds once again… but if I just completely destroy him, there will be nothing left to recover and he won't hurt anyone ever again… but with the cost of an innocent soul…" the fairy looked up to her sacred partner for guidance, as he regarded her with unsaid wisdom.

"I cannot make the decision for you Bloom. I may have created the magical dimension but you all have free will to do as you please I just watch actions take place and protect when needed. You must come to your own conclusion. This will be a difficult decision, but I know you will choice wisely." He dropped his arms and fully stood straight before Bloom. "Before time begins to flow once more, I will share with you some knowledge you may or may not need." He reached out a finger and gently tapped a claw to her forehead. In a bright flash of light, Bloom blinked and saw she was back in her physical body fighting once more with Eldus.

"You will not win, Bloom! I will be victorious!" Eldus exclaimed as he put more power into his attack. Bloom closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before opening her eyes once more sparking with firey determination. With the last remaining strength she had surging within her, she pushed her wings forward.

"This ends here and now Eldus!… one way or another…"


	47. Chapter 46: Goodbye

_**Disclaimer: **__I do not own Winx Club_

**_A/N:_**_OMG only a chapter away from finishing! I can't believe this is happening! Oo I hope this comes out as good as I wish it does!_

_please enjoy this chapter and any feedback or critics would be much appreciated. Thanks!_

_And special thanks to Katlover, and all my loyal readers. THANK YOU SOO VERY MUCH! You are all AWESOME! XD _

' _**Thinking to oneself**_'**  
**" **Talking **"

* * *

**Chapter 46  
****Goodbye**

"This ends here and now Eldus… one way or another…"

Bloom forced her wings to push against Eldus' blast to gain ground. The seconds seemed longer as she inched closer and closer until she was almost within reach. She saw the startled look in the dark sorcerer's eyes when he saw her forcing her way through their clashing blasts, unwavering determination glowing in her blue eyes. Too shocked to form words, all he could do was force more power into his attack, attempting to force her back… with no avail.

'Ready Glaedr?!' 'When you are Guardian.' Bloom took a deep breath and took a moment to glance behind her. She had moved her family to lie side by side out of reach of immediate danger in a protective barrier. But she worried that when her barrier fell when the spell was completed, they would be defenseless from the after blast.

Her chest clutched slightly when she saw Cari stir, then sit up looking slightly confused. 'I don't want her to see…' 'She might be of use… awake she can protect herself and Sky from the backlash.' Glaedr commented 'But…'

It pained and confused her when she saw tears falling from Cari's gentle blue eyes and shaking her head viciously. The child paused and locked eyes with her for a moment before she quickly stood up and banged on the barrier, shouting words that Bloom couldn't hear. 'Is she arguing with someone?' The small girl then took a moment to glance at the unconscious Sky beside her before turning back to lock eyes with Bloom once more. She wrapped her tiny hands around herself; eyes laced with so much raw emotions that it pained Bloom knowing she couldn't comfort the heavily crying child.

'Akira is attempting to convince her to erect her barrier.' Bloom didn't ask how Glaedr knew that but knew she had to stay calm, for Cari. With heartache Bloom blinked and gave her child a confident smile and nodded before she mouthed '_I love you_.'

Bloom saw Cari's eyes widen as a shudder ran through her small body as a ghost of a smile appeared on her small face. She scrunched her eyes closed, forcefully whipping away the tears, before opening them with watery determination burning in her eyes. Cari extended her tiny hands and a strong purple barrier appeared around her's. She lovingly smiled at the small child, with eyes showing her pride.

Knowing they will be safe now, she turned to face Eldus anew and abruptly forced more power into her blast. It resulted in a small bright explosion that startled Eldus enough for Bloom to place a hand on his chest and one on his forehead. "NO!" He yelled trying to escape her touch, but found his body to be paralyzed as she began forcing her magic into his body. Panicking, he tried to break her confidence, he tried to flash his confident unfazed smile, using the only weapon he had left, his words.

"I see you decided to just seal me away. Didn't have the heart to kill me, huh? Did you perhaps find out about my past? About my host's past, I should say?" He forced a snicker. He continued slightly frustrated when he received no reaction from the red haired fairy. "That's fine, I will be freed again one day and when I am, I _will_ immediately go after Domino's royal family… _your_ descendents!"

Bloom locked eyes with him and gave a small knowing smile. "There won't be any evil part of you left to do any harm to anyone, anymore." His smile faltered when he saw her hands begin to glow and burn, but not in the way the Sealing spell had with Jeanne. "What?! Wait! Stop!"

"DRAGON'S CLEANSING BREATH!"

Fire engulfed Eldus' body from the inside out, as he screamed in pain and shock. Bloom grimaced as she forced more and more power into the Cleansing spell, feeling slight relief when she saw the darkness in the dark sorcerer's eyes become slightly lighter. The fire grew and grew until it completely surrounded Eldus, then it reached out to envelope Bloom. Soon they both disappeared into the bright large red flaming ball.

Just as Glaedr telepathically instructed her, all her thoughts were focused on freeing Nicolas' innocent soul and in destroying the evil shadows that controlled his heart and mind. She could feel his pure soul floating in the endless void of the darkness within Eldus' shell, she called out to Nicolas in hopes that he could hear and help her fight.

"You lost your way in the darkness Nicolas, when you belong to the light. But don't worry, I will help you find your way again." Bloom said with a gentle smile as her eyes closed on their own, feeling her transformation fade away and feeling her power flow out of her. She embraced the void that surrounded her.

Bloom slowly opened her eyes not sure what to expect. At first she could only see bright light surrounding her as she lay on her back. She shakily sat up, a hand placed on her head as she tried to remember what happened.

Once in an upright position, she was slightly shocked to see Eldus a few feet away from her. There was a large shadow hovering behind him, still fighting the blazing fire that her spell engulfed him in, not wanting to relinquish his grip on Nicolas. It wasn't physically burning him per say, but instead trying to burn the shadow's bond on him. It was a brutal and painful internal battle.

"I was hoping that I didn't have to do the final step of the spell. I thought I was strong enough to force the separation without needing to call out to Nicolas' soul… I-I don't think I have the strength to engage him now…" Bloom whispered to herself.

"You have done your part Bloom… now it is time to finish mine…" the fairy was shocked when the locket around her neck begin to glow again, and couldn't help to feel relief when she saw Jeanne appear before her with the locket now hanging around her delicate neck, instead of Bloom's. The former Queen looked at Bloom with a thankful expression and gently pat her shoulder before turning to float towards the dark sorcerer, screaming only a few feet away. Bloom tried to reach out to her, tried to stand, wanting to help, but stopped short when she felt a strong gentle hand on her shoulder hold her down. "Glaedr?" "She must finish her mission. That was her biggest regret when she departed this world."

Eldus looked up in pain and saw his former enemy. He felt the anger build within him again, granting him the strength to withstand the spell trying to tear him apart slightly easier than before. "You should be long gone from this world, Jeanne!" He spat "I won't let you take me with you! I will destroy you and everything you love!"

"It's over Eldus, you have lost. Release Nicolas from your cold grip, and I will give you mercy." "You think I will fall for such an obvious trap? Why would _you_, let a pure evil being, like _me_, roam free just for the sake of _one_ innocent soul?" He growled back, but smirked "Besides he has no desire to return to you… you were the one who shattered his heart, after all. Why would he want to go back to that heartache and loneliness?"

Sadness and pain danced in Jeanne's eyes at his sharp words. "Nick… I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm sorry that I didn't realize your feelings sooner. I'm sorry I didn't realize what I did to you. I'm sorry you had to suffer alone. I'm sorry I continued on with my life without you… But I never stopped looking for you, I never stopped believing in you, I never stopped loving you… you're my best friend… please come back to me…I still need you… I know you still care about Domino… about our friendship… about _me_…"

Tears fell down her cheeks as she saw caramel eyes looking back at her in recognition. "J-Je…an…ne…?" a soft smile graced her lips in joy "Yes, I'm right here! Fight Nick! Come back to me! I need you!" the former queen exclaimed as she held out her hand to him. He struggled to reach out while the dark shadows kept its firm grip on him.

"NO! I WON'T LET YOU! Why would you want to go back? The light will only reject you after everything you have done!" The darkness cried out. Nicolas hesitated and doubt clouded his eyes. "It's right… I have committed horrible crimes… I do not have a place to return to… I do not deserve to belong anywhere…" He sadly said as his hand slowly fell back down and looked down in shame. "That's not true! Of course you belong to the light!" It pained her to see her friend's caramel eyes getting darker again. She curled within herself to keep from crying.

"Nick don't you remember what you told me the day my fire went berserk for the first time? I burned down a large section of the forest that day. Everyone feared me… they began calling me 'witch'… telling me I didn't belong on _their_ peaceful Domino… that I was no Princess of their's… it hurt me so much… I was so scared… I _believed_ them… I believed that I didn't belong there…in my own home…I thought that if I was truly meant to be a fairy then why was I given such destructive powers… I believed that I really did belong with the dark arts… sigh… do you remember what you told me when I was about to turn my back on the light? …You said it was impossible that I belonged in the darkness because fire would never fit in. It was too warm and bright to live in the cold darkness. You told me my flame was a warm and protecting light that everyone needed. That _you_ needed, the only light you needed. A light that shined so strong it would scare the darkness away, only leaving the comforting warmth of its flame." She looked up to see his soft caramel eyes returning and gave him such a loving smile he couldn't help but weakly smile back.

Though it only lasted a short moment. "You _were_ my light Jeanne, my warmth, my life, my _love_… But I cannot look upon your guiding flame anymore… I don't deserve to…not with all the blood on my hands…" the former Queen sadly shook her head "Mistakes were made, Nick. We all made them… especially me. But I know the only mistake you made was giving up in a moment of weakness, nothing more. The shadows were watching and waiting for you… they took advantage and possessed your body, you had no control. Those crimes you speak of… those were done by _Eldus,_ not _you_. Not once did your _heart_ accept those crimes." Jeanne said in a sure tone.

"How could you know?" He replied full of doubt. "I saw it in your eyes. Every time you attacked an innocent, I saw a flash of regret in your eyes. Even when you cursed Bloom, instead of Sky, I saw the sadness in your eyes. When you thought she had died, you became racked with guilt, instead of taking advantage of Domino's weakness. You didn't want to do any of those things. Eldus was able to _force_ your body, but not your heart. Your eyes showed that."

"How were you able to see any of that?" "Glaedr has been watching you closely, and through my locket he showed me everything he witnessed."

Jeanne glanced back to Bloom and saw she was weakening quickly. The spell would stay active and continue to use up the caster's remaining energy until either the healing was complete or the fairy's magic fully depleted. And it didn't look like Bloom had much time left; if Nick wasn't cleansed soon then all would have been for nothing. Jeanne glanced back at her friend and took a small step forward, while slowly weaving her magic into Bloom's to give it the boost it will need to finish when the time was right.

"Nick, won't you come back to me? Back to the way we were? Happy? Carefree? Together?" She saw that her friend wanted that, but she also saw the doubt growing again "But Leo…he is by your side now…"

"Sure, Leo has a special place in my heart; he's my husband, my king, my true love. But my heart is not whole without you. I don't love you any less; it's just a different kind of love. While you were gone I always felt like something was missing in my life… I dreamed of day that you would return and meet my little girl. I missed you so much, and I still do. I love you… I want us to be a family again."

"_Your lies are just pretty words! Where is the proof of this so called love?!"_ The shadows struggled to exclaim. "This locket is proof!" Jeanne reached up and opened the locket so show the inscription within.

_'Even in the darkest time, my love's fire for you will be eternal'_

"Where did you find that?" Nick gasped in disbelief "In your room… after months of searching I decided to go through your room, in hopes of finding clues. I didn't mean to intrude on your privacy… but I found this written in one of your poetry books. You were always so good with words, Nick. I read every poem you had written, but I fell in love with this one in particular, it was written next to sketch of us smiling together. It became like a spell to me, a spell of true unyielding love that will never fail… when we last fought I wanted to leave something behind that meant everything to me. I wanted to leave behind the strength and love you left me. So I left behind your little spell that helped me through the tough times without you. I left this for… everyone I loved… to protect you, to guide you… _all_ of you… you, Leo, my daughter, Domino, the future… I wanted you to know that my heart's flame will always burn bright for you."

Tears escaped his caramel eyes. She could see that the shadows were having a harder time keeping their hold on him. She stood before him within reach, no fear in her eyes. With a loving smile she offered her hand to him. "I will never reject you Nick. My flame has been burning bright and strong for you all this time… waiting for you to find it's guiding light… wont you let me guide you back home?"

He hesitated for a split second before nodding, eyes shining with his love for her. "I just want to be by your side, forever, Jeanne." He reached out and grabbed her warm outstretched hand. She nodded as she squeezed his hand releasing her magic that she weaved with Bloom's, boosting the spell into completion "Forever, my sweet Nick."

"_NOOOOOO!"_

Bright light flashed, forcing Bloom to shield her eyes. When she opened them again she saw the dark shadows dissipate as her cleansing flame burned it, leaving nothing behind. Bloom's eyes began to lose focus as she felt her remaining power draining from her body. She managed to focus enough to see a tall scrawny man in comfy brown clothing, with thick rimmed glasses, looking like a classic bookworm walk beside Jeanne as they made their way over to her. Bloom couldn't believe it, Eldus was no more.

Relief and exhaustion overwhelmed her that she lost the strength to support herself anymore. She let herself fall back, but was shocked not to feel the hard ground. Instead a strong warm arm supported her, keeping her in a seated position. She didn't need to look to know that Glaedr was supporting her, even though she knew he didn't like physical contact very much, he was still there gently holding her up. She silently gave him her thanks and trusted that he would watch over her when she fell into the eternal sleep that was calling her as he did Jeanne. Bloom noticed the former queen standing before her with Nicolas timidly by her side.

With heavy eyes Bloom looked up and tried to smile in greeting. "I am in your debt Princess Bloom. Thank you for freeing me from my nightmarish prison and… I apologize… for the cruel actions I have taken against you." Bloom weakly shook her head "Glad you're… free." Jeanne giggled at her now speechless and gapping friend. The young fairy looked at them with confusion "Apologizes…I was expecting anger… not relieve for my well being…" he mumbled to her silent question while rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment "She's a lot like you isn't she Jeanne?" "She _is_ my descendent after all." The former queen replied with a casual shrug and eyes filled with pride.

Bloom began to lose focus, her eyes became heavier, her thoughts on the family she left behind, but grateful they would be safe. 'I hope Cari's barrier held up. I'm going to miss them…' Tears silently fell, the reality of her circumstances sinking in.

She spent every last drop of power she had and then some into the spell, she had no magic or life energy left, she just wanted to close her eyes and rest. But knowing she wouldn't awaken once she did, barely kept her clinging to consciousness. But exhaustion won out, she decided to just give in and tried to think positively, to fall asleep with a smile.

She had won, Eldus gone forever, the Winx, Domino, Earth, everyone was safe now, Cari and Sky were safe, the shadows were burned away… Cari's and Sky's laughter echoed in her memories.

She slightly opened her eyes when she felt a warm hand cup her cheek. Her remaining worries faded away when she saw Jeanne's soft and strong blue eyes.

"You did well Bloom, thank you for making my family whole again." Jeanne softly brushed her bangs away from the young fairy's face. "Rest now."

On command Bloom closed her eyes and welcomed the warm embrace of her eternal sleep.

* * *

Cari woke up and slowly sat up. She looked around, confused by her odd surroundings, her head slightly spinning. 'T-this isn't my room…' 'Cari! You need to focus! Put up your barrier! Now!' "A-Akira…?... what's going on?"

'I know you're confused, but Princess Bloom can't hold up her barrier for much longer. She is about to cast her spell but there will be an explosion. You need to protect yourself!' "What? No, she's strong enough to do both. That's what the Winx always told me..." 'Not this time, Cari. S-she needs to use _all_ her powers to successfully cast this spell…' "All? …No, NO! She can't use all of it… if she does then she won't come back to me! NO!" the small girl exclaimed as she shook her head with tears beginning to stream down her face.

Looking up she noticed Bloom inches away from Eldus. Locking eyes, the small girl saw the sadness and concern in those blue eyes. She jumped up and started to bang on the barrier willing it to open, to run to the red haired fairy. "Bloom! Don't do it! I don't like this! Please don't leave me!" 'Cari! Please! Put up your barrier! If you don't you will get hurt.' "I don't care!… I don't want to say goodbye… I don't want to lose her… I just found her! Just found my mom…" 'If you won't protect yourself what about Prince Sky? Your _father_? Will you let him die too? When you can save him? You might survive the blast but he _won't_. Are you willing to lose _both_ parents?'

Cari glanced back and saw Sky lying unconscious beside her. Shaking the small child wrapped her small arms around herself and locked eyes with Bloom again whose blue eyes still showed her concern. 'If I put up my barrier I feel like its final… finally saying goodbye … I-I don't want that… I want to help her, like she helped me… but I can't let Sky get hurt either…I don't want to say goodbye… I want her with me… I want them _both_ with me … what do I do? …stay, protect Sky? Or help Bloom?... I-I don't know what to do…'

Cari froze when Bloom's eyes filled with undying love, smiling confidently while she nodded. The child's heart ached when she understood the mouthed words 'I love you.' She shuddered as the joy in those three words spread through her tiny body.

'I love you too Bloom…' Cari scrunched her eyes closed, took a deep breath and decided she was going to help Bloom by protecting Sky with everything she had. She forcefully wiped the tears from her cheeks. Then opened her eyes feeling her dragon fire burning strong within her and with such a blazing fire that she knew nothing would get past her. A pang of fear passed through her mind; fear that she might not be able to control this flame within her. But when she felt Akira's comforting and supportive presence, she knew together they will be fine and protect Sky.

She extended her small hands in front of her small body and summoned a strong purple barrier that appeared around Bloom's. The tears began to flow once more when Bloom lovingly smiled at her before she turned away and disappeared a moment later in a firey ball of light.

All Cari could do was watch in horror as Bloom's barrier shattered around them and faded away into little specks of light. The ball of light, which swallowed up the fairy and dark sorcerer, hovered on its fixed spot for a short moment before it suddenly exploded with the force of a category 4 tornado.

The blast was so fierce; it forced the child to her knees as the blast hit her barrier with a tremendous impact, threatening to break through. It took all the strength the child had to keep them protected. The blast may have only lasted seconds, but holding up against it made it feel like hours. Once the worst was over Cari was tempted to release her barrier, but Akira told her to hold on a little longer. If Bloom's spell failed it will be needed to keep them safe, not to mention to protect them from falling debris and giant dust cloud that surrounded them.

Panting heavily the child hoped the dust would settle faster, she wanted to know if Bloom won, if she was ok. The longer she was forced to wait the more impatient she got; the only thing that kept her rooted was Akira's constant reminder that she still had to protect Sky.

Once the dust fairly settled Cari stood up and peered through the barrier trying to get a better view. She was starting to see things clearer when Akira suddenly put her on alert; a high concentration of magic was forming behind her.

She spun around to see a portal opening up. 'Someone's coming… it might be the Trix!' Cari took a defensive stance and prepared to blast her fire at anyone who tried to attack them.

She shoulders sagged in relief when she saw familiar and friendly faces step through. Instantly she let her barrier drop and ran into Flora's gentle arms. "Cari! O Cari I'm so glad you're safe! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Flora asked as she tried to sooth the hysterical child in her arms. "I'm fine… but Sky… and Bloom… I was so scared… I don't want to lose them!" the child gasped in between sobs.

The Winx looked at the destroyed area. Everything was either blasted far back or burned to a crisp, they were able to see non-threatening small fires in the distance scattered around, they were all thankful this spell was not cast near the castle or any populated area in general.

They had defied Headmistress Faragonda's wishes when they had rushed from Alfea the moment they saw the once strong light emanating from Bloom's charm had faded away. Now that they were here they wanted to find their leader as soon as possible, fearing the worst.

Flora stayed back with Sky and Cari as the rest of the Winx slowly flew forward to scan the area, prepared if Eldus survived such an attack. They inched closer to the center of the blast on high alert. They reached the center and looked down into a small crater that was created by the blast, and tried to cover their shock when they saw Bloom pale and unmoving within. They all knelt/collapsed down beside her, tears in their eyes, no one daring to move.

Aisha was the only one who was able to reach out and gently hold Bloom's wrist up, hoping to find a pulse. The seconds dragged on as the Winx waited expectantly to her. Aisha took a deep breath before gently placing Bloom's wrist down, and slowly shook her head as tears fell from her eyes. It only took a moment for the Winx to realize what it meant and cried.

"Flora let's follow them." "Wait a moment Cari. It might still be dangerous and we shouldn't leave Sky defenseless." Cari nodded once in understanding but it frustrated her that she had been left behind. Her hysterical tears had slowed when the Winx mentioned that they were going to look for Bloom. She was told to stay behind with Flora in case Eldus had survived.

'O I wish they would go faster.' She squeezed Flora's hand when the Winx all knelt in a semicircle on the ground. "Did they find Bloom?" "I'm not sure sweetie." They both gasped when they saw Aisha lift a hand off the ground and hold it for a moment before placing it back down again. Tears sprang in Flora's and Cari's eyes when they heard Stella's mournful cry.

Cari was frozen, not realizing at first that her body had moved on its own and was running as fast as she could to the Winx… to Bloom…ignoring Flora's calls. She was panting when she looked in between the crying Winx and screamed when she saw Bloom lying on the hard ground, unmoving and pale. She ignored the Winx's words of comfort as she stumbled beside her mother and held her hand in between her's.

'No… I just found you… come back… don't leave me all alone…' Cari's crying made her lungs scream from exhaustion but she couldn't stop her mournful cries. She heard voices around her trying to get her attention but she ignored them. She didn't even care when she heard Daphne's familiar voice behind her. She didn't want to think of anything right now, everything was just too painful.

'Cari you need to calm down…' Akira spoke softly to the distraught girl, but was ignored as well. 'Cari please… talk to me… try to breath… you are starting to go into shock…' she did start to lose feeling in her legs and her head was starting to get fuzzy, like she was about to fall into a pool of jello. 'Cari! Focus… calm down… you need to stay in control of your emotions… you need to stay in control your powers… right now we are not in balance… Eldus messing with your mind and magic made one of the seals crack… too much power is leaking out… Glaedr can't fix the seal if your heart is just as berserk as your magic… please Cari…'

Akira was right, she knew it, she could feel a surge of power pooling somewhere inside of her inching to be set free. 'What do I do?' a heavy sigh of relief was heard from Akira when Cari finally responded. 'You need to expel it gradually… just enough for me to patch it up… can you do it?' 'How do I expel it?' 'Either continuous energy blasts or positively flowing the excess power out… but you must hurry… I'm worried you will faint from exhaustion soon…' Cari squeezed Bloom's hand tighter not wanting to let it go. 'I-I don't want to leave her… I want to stay here… I want her to wake up…' '…I'm sorry Cari…' the small girl shook her head in despair. She could feel the excess power flooding, but she was too tired to react much. 'Just a little longer.'

Her emotions spiked when she felt Bloom's once warm hand getting colder. 'No! I don't like this! Bloom's hand is always warm! Always strong!' 'Cari stop! Calm down!... the seal won't hold like this!' the girl shook her head and rubbed her hands on Bloom's in hopes of warming her up.

Cari could hear familiar voices around her; she knew they were close but sounded far away. They were calling out to her in such a panic she knew had to tell them she was fine, but she couldn't find her voice or the desire to really care. She just wanted to Bloom to tuck her in bed and snuggle into her warm arms like she did every night.

She could barely make out Akria's pleas anymore, but she could numbly feel her magic spinning around like an undersea current… but she couldn't come to care… 'Let it do what it wants.' All she cared about was warming Bloom's hand, willing her mother to squeeze her hand back, wishing she would wake up and hold her in a loving embrace, wishing them to go back home together, as a family.

All Cari could think about now, were all the memories she spent with Bloom, even the sad, painful ones became comforting just because Bloom was in them. Recalling her memories gave her such bliss she didn't mind when she felt her body getting weak and numb, her vision slowly fading. She was so mentally and physically tired she didn't fight it, not even at Akira's calls.

She felt warm… not sure if it was from her Dragon Flame becoming wild or from the warm memories that danced in her head. She didn't care she welcomed the warm embrace, thinking of Bloom as she fell unconscious.

'Please don't say goodbye…I love you Bloom…I love you…mama'


End file.
